Midnight Lily
by CumuloQ
Summary: It takes more then one fairytale to sum up Lily’s life. But when it comes to the Graduation Ball at the end of their Seventh year at Hogwarts, she needs more than one miracle to find the perfect partner, AND to pass in her exams.
1. Chapter One

::Midnight Lily:: PG  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Lily sat at the table of a café in Hogsmeade waiting for James to finish ordering their drinks. It was a new feeling for her to be dating James Potter. She wasn't sure why she was giving him this chance. Only that she had pitied him so much at the time. Her mind played through all the immature stunts he did during their fifth and sixth year, wondering whether she had done the right thing. Her red hair cascaded down both her white shoulders and her locks sparkled like hidden gems.  
  
A sigh crossed her gentle lips as the clock on the wall continued to tick. How long had she been waiting for him?  
  
She turned around and saw that James's back was facing against hers as he stood at the counter. Words ran through her mind, "why even bother? He doesn't deserve you!" Lily shoved it back out of her head. Her best friend, Katie Summers, was wrong this time. If she kept thinking about what her friends thought, then she'd be going nowhere.  
  
Lily remembered her second year where she had met Severus Snape. Everyone thought she was loony to even like a Slytherin. So she gave him up, took their words instead of his, and started hating him along with the rest of her friends.  
  
Right now Lily didn't know where James lay in her heart. She didn't love him, of course. She didn't even like him much. But maybe he deserved a second chance. Her thoughts were disturbed when James returned, carrying two mugs of butterbeer. He handed her the first mug and then sat down on the opposite seat and took a sip of his own.  
  
"Sorry I took so long," he said, murmuring his apologies. "The first one they gave me was cold." His sincerity made Lily relax a little and she tasted her own. The flavour sent warm tingles down her body.  
  
"That's okay," she said.  
  
He sat there uneasily, and Lily realized with amusement that they were acting like little children on their first dates. What was it about her that made her different from all the other girls he dated? Lily sighed again.  
  
"Why did you really bring me here?" Lily asked finally.  
  
"I just, want to know you a little better," James replied.  
  
Lily raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I like you – alright," James admitted. His face was turning as red as Lily's hair. Lily was moved. Mr. Bighead had done a little deflation.  
  
"You didn't have to tell me that," Lily scowled. But then realizing that she had been commented by James added, "thanks." There was an uneasy silence that came afterwards. It was the fact that these two didn't know how to talk to each other that was so unsettling. Lily felt like breaking the silence, but she couldn't, what would she say? Then she remembered last week when she saw James and a girl – Emma – were snogging by the fireplace in the common room.  
  
"So – your little girlfriend is back in the castle?" Lily teased a lightly. "Emma, right?"  
  
James glowered. "She's not my girlfriend."  
  
"Oh?" asked Lily, raising her eyebrow once more. "Too boring for you?"  
  
"No," James said quickly. "She's not my type."  
  
"Who is?" Lily laughed. "How many girlfriends is it now? Fifty?"  
  
"My dating life is none of your business," said James coldly. He looked out the window and realized that it had started to snow. The snowflakes that came down outside the window looked like little white blossoms. He sipped his butterbeer with the appreciation that he was inside and warm. Why did he even ask her out when he knew she was going to act this way? Lily was always the type to hide her feelings. She wouldn't fall in love with someone she knew wouldn't treat her well.  
  
"I'm sorry," said Lily hurriedly, realizing that her friends' words were starting to get to her. It was always the same. What they said kept floating into her mind over and over again. 'He's not worth it' or 'you deserve much better than him.' Her friends were always her influence. "I guess that the little voice in my head is overpowering me."  
  
"That's alright," said James. He leaned back and ruffled his hair (to Lily's annoyance.) God it's boring with her, thought James as he looked around the café. Where's Sirius when I need him?  
  
Lily took another mouthful of butterbeer and placed the mug back onto the table. She looked at James and realized that he was looking around. Was she THAT boring? She asked herself. He ruffled his hair again and Lily fought an urge to slap him round the face. "I better leave," she said looking at him as if he finalized her decision. "It's obvious that you're becoming jaded, and I don't want you starting to jinx someone once more." She turned and caught Snape's eye. "Especially not him." She stood up, waiting for his response.  
  
It came.  
  
James stood up so suddenly that his butterbeer spilt across the table, sending drops onto Lily's jumper. He didn't seem to notice it. "What do you mean leave?" he hissed at her. "Just sit down! I'm not 'jaded.'"  
  
"Then I have no idea what face you held a few seconds ago," said Lily sarcastically. "If you can't keep on one person for at least half an hour then I have no idea why I came here." She grabbed her bag and turn to leave. James suddenly grabbed her wrist. His grip was surprisingly powerful and he forced her down to the point of sitting again.  
  
The whole room was now watching them. Every single eye in the room was pointed in their direction. A spotlight seemed to be shining at their very spot. James and Lily, to busy arguing, were unaware of the sudden attention.  
  
"Potter! Let go of me right now!" Lily shrieked and pulled out of his grip. She stood up once more and stared at him with horror.  
  
He stood up too and looked back at her with the same glare of revulsion.  
  
"You," said Lily, pointing at James's face with a shaking hand. "You are lower then the lowest scum! You don't deserve to even be in Gryffindor!" Her eye caught her half-full mug of butterbeer, and without further hesitation, she picked it up and flung the warm liquid onto James. "Here is your butterbeer back!"  
  
Everyone gasped in surprise, not trying to hide what they saw. It was obvious that at that moment, James and Lily would hate each other for a long, long time. Butterbeer was spilt all over James face and his front was completely soaked. His hair was drenched and his black locks were everywhere across his forehead.  
  
And with that, Lily stormed out of the café, her face as red as her hair, leaving James in the midst of discomfiture.  
  
"So," said a soft voice when she reached her common room. "How did it go?" It was Katie Summers, Lily's best friend, who was sitting on Lily's bed patiently. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back in an elegant ponytail and her grey-green eyes were welcoming in the dark. Lily hung her jacket at the end of her bed. "By the looks of it, it was a complete disaster."  
  
Lily sat down beside her best friend and sighed. "You've got that right."  
  
A smile lit Katie's face. "I knew it," she said. "He definitely isn't Mr. Right for you."  
  
Lily looked at her friend. "You think."  
  
Katie stood up and allowed Lily to lie on her bed. "I'm sorry that you feel that way," replied Katie with sympathy in her voice. "But you're smart Lily, you only deserve the best." Katie sat down beside Lily.  
  
"Katie," said Lily slowly.  
  
"Yah?"  
  
"Tell me another story."  
  
Lily enjoyed Katie's stories. Not because they were elaborate and intensely creative, but because Katie placed Lily as the main character. Even though Lily was Muggle-born she had never heard any Muggle stories. Katie was the only one who knew them well and never thought that Lily was childish for liking them.  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Midnight Lily." It was one of Lily's favourites. Katie's version of Cinderella.  
  
There was a long pause before Katie started the story. When she did, everything in the room seemed to have gone silent. Even the birds outside the window had ceased their songs.  
  
"Once upon a time," Katie began. "There lived a misjudged teenaged girl named Lily. Her parents had died and she had to live with an awful stepfather and one wicked stepsister named Patsy. Lily was kind and gentle and she treated everything with care and love. So obviously, she was naturally beautiful with spools and spools of red hair." Lily touched her own hair in recognition. "She had to work as a maid in her own house and as a leisurely activity she grew pumpkins, something that her stepfamily could not protest against."  
  
"Then the ball," Lily reminded Katie absent-mindedly.  
  
"Yes, the beautiful Graduation ball which was to take place for her final year at school," Katie said with a smile. "But poor Lily couldn't find a date, because anyone who is Lily's date would be pounded by mean old Patsy. And closer and closer the days grew till it was the night before the ball, Lily had no date and Patsy had one, awful disgusting Simon, and they planned to be the King and Queen of the ball."  
  
Lily stuck her tongue out at the thought of Simone and Patsy being crowned King and Queen.  
  
"Then Lily realizes that she has no more pumpkin seeds for the next day, and she goes off to the market that night to find more," Katie continued. "That night she meets up with the most popular guy at school, Jonathan Prince, and they start to talk with each other."  
  
"Can we change the name Jonathan?" Lily asked, interrupting the story. "It sounds too much like James."  
  
Katie laughed. "Okay, Lily meets up with – Matt Prince, and they start to become friends with each other," Katie said, changing the sentence around. "And the strange thing was that Matt too didn't have a date for the ball, so they decide to team up and go together. But the bad part was that the next day, Patsy heard the rumours that Matt and Lily were going together and she becomes jealous. So Patsy goes off and asks her fairy godmother to turn Lily into a pumpkin since she liked taking care of them so much. So Lily turns from a beautiful and kind teenaged girl into a beautiful and kind pumpkin, and Patsy goes off happily to the Graduation ball."  
  
The door opened and a girl walked into their common room. It was Amber, another one of Lily's friends. Her light brown hair was flying everywhere and her warm almond eyes were shining. Her eyes caught on Katie and Lily's and she gave them a wave. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Katie's telling me the story of Midnight Lily," Lily supplied. A smile lit Amber's lips.  
  
"Go on then," Amber encouraged, sitting down and leaning by Lily's bed. "I want to hear it too – even though you've told it millions of times."  
  
Katie shook her head, distracted. "Where was I?"  
  
"Patsy had just left to go to the Graduation ball with stupid Simon," Lily said quickly.  
  
"Oh, ya," replied Katie. "So anyway, Lily was a pumpkin, so she couldn't feel anything or anything but her own fairy godmother knew that she was unhappy. So Lily is transformed back to her human self but with one exception, what do you think it was Amber?"  
  
"That at the stroke of midnight, she'd be turned back into a pumpkin," said Amber promptly.  
  
"Right," nodded Katie. "And so Lily heads off to the Graduation ball, catches up with her dream guy Matt."  
  
"I thought it was Jonathan," Amber interrupted.  
  
"It's Matt now," said Lily happily. "But go on Katie."  
  
"Lily has the time of her life, and her jealous stepsister Patsy is completely humiliated," Katie continued. "Matt and Lily go out to the front and sit down on a side bench, watching the lights inside. It was close to midnight, and Lily was soon to turn into a pumpkin, everything in her life was soon to be gone. There the two were, holding each other, Lily so much wanted to kiss Matt. So she does, slowly and passionately, and then midnight strikes." Katie banged her fist against the wall of the dormitory and both Amber and Lily jumped. "But nothing happened – the kiss had freed Lily from becoming a pumpkin, and she knew that she was with the one she loved most of all at that moment."  
  
"And nothing else mattered," Lily said with a sigh.  
  
Katie nodded. "Nothing else."  
  
"Love was all that she needed," Amber said. "It was the kiss that stopped her stepmother from turning her back into a pumpkin."  
  
Lily sat up in her bed. "Our Graduation ball is going to come," Lily reminded them. "And then I'm going to turn into a pumpkin, like the Lily in the story." Katie stood up and stretched her feet. Amber too stood up, but only to make her way to her bed.  
  
"Lily," said Katie suddenly. "You're too caught up in this fairytale business, in real life, you'll find a date."  
  
"Ya," remarked Amber. "You're smart, beautiful and popular; you'll have no problem finding the guy you want."  
  
"What if the guy I want isn't real?" asked Lily.  
  
Her two friends just looked at her and laughed, as if it were a joke.  
  
A/N: Hope you liked the first chapter, don't forget to review.  
  



	2. Chapter Two

::Midnight Lily:: PG  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Chapter Two  
  
The next day, Lily woke up earlier then the rest of her friends, as usual. She pinned her Head Girl badge onto her robes and made her way down to the common room. She saw that James had woken up early as well. For whatever reason that was – she didn't particularly care. When James saw her he gave a nasty glare and said loudly, "here comes the ice queen."  
  
Lily blushed furiously but was thankful that the only other people in the common room were two first year boys.  
  
"Just shut up Potter!" Lily snarled back at him as she took a seat a few tables away. She slammed a pile of books down and began completing her homework. She had taken ages in completing her essay on Comparable Species Transfiguration and she wanted to finish it off as fast as she could. They were having a test tomorrow and she especially didn't want to fail this one. Of course, Lily had never failed in her life.  
  
Lily flipped through her book, trying to find good enough examples on the ways a transfiguration of turtle to tortoise could be easily misconducted. Suddenly another one of her friends, Charlotte Stuart, came into the common room. If you have yet to know, Charlotte was a hell raiser, a party goer and it was very hard to concentrate when she was breathing down your neck. Everyone referred to Charlotte as Charlie. She was a stout girl with butter blonde curls and sparkling brown eyes. She seemed to have champagne bubbling beneath her every minute of every day.  
  
"Morning Lily!" said Charlie, grinning into Lily's ear. "Heard what happened yesterday from Katie, bad luck. But of course, we know that you're worth better then him." At that moment, she turned her gaze to James and looked at him with cold hatred. "Good on you girlfriend!!"  
  
"Morning Charlie," said Lily distinctly. "Have you finished your essay for Professor McGonagall yet?"  
  
Charlie sat down and grinned. "Ages ago!" She said, waving her hand as if to brush away the subject. "That one was a cinch!"  
  
Lily looked up and gave a sigh. How could Charlie finish her essay before Lily? "Mind helping me a bit?" Lily asked timidly.  
  
Charlie laughed. "Do my ears deceive me?" asked Charlie loudly. "Brainy Lily wants help from me?" She slapped Lily on her back, making her double over. "That's a good one Lily!! A real hoot!!" Lily gave a small grin but said nothing more.  
  
After a few minutes of stressful searching Lily ended up finishing her essay. But she still wasn't so sure that she would be able to achieve really good grades from the material she found. She kept checking and rechecking, biting off a couple of fingernails in the process. To make matters worst Charlie kept popping up with smart remarks. Such as "you're smart, and McGonagall's pet, no doubt you'll score it big time," or "you worry too much, every time you do this you end up the best anyhow!"  
  
Soon enough Charlie kept turning around to greet her friends. Lily never knew how Charlie was able to recognize everyone in Hogwarts. It was just that she had a knack to keep in contact with a large group of people. She was one of those people like gossip queen Bertha Jorkins or the cheat expert Alex Watson.  
  
In the end Lily gave up rechecking and began packing up. It was already close to breakfast anyway and soon enough the common room would be packed with noisy people. "Charlie, do you know where Katie is?" asked Lily curiously as she hitched her backpack up her shoulder.  
  
"Um, ya," said Charlie slowly. "I think she's upstairs talking to Amber."  
  
"Okay, thanks," replied Lily and she made her way through the crowd and back up to her dormitory. There she found, as said, Katie and Amber talking together as they dressed into their robes. When they spotted Lily they called for her to come over and talk to them. The both were rather giggly and as Lily made her way towards them, Katie opened up.  
  
"Did you hear?" asked Katie softly and in an excited whisper. "James has a new crush; I heard it from Sirius a few minutes ago."  
  
"And what were you doing talking to Sirius?" asked Amber slyly. Katie flushed a deep red. It was a known fact that Katie had always had a crush on Sirius ever since their fifth year.  
  
"Who is it then?" asked Lily.  
  
"You won't believe it," said Katie, turning back to her normal colour. ""It's that pretty girl, Ailsa Umbridge from Hufflepuff."  
  
"You mean the cousin of Dolores Umbridge?" Lily asked. She sat down on Amber's bed.  
  
"Yep," Katie said. "She has a better head in things though, not as narked as Dolores was. But she's another one of those pigeon head girls – probably gets it from Bertha Jorkins."  
  
Amber shot Katie a disgruntled look. "Katie, you say that about everyone," Amber remarked. "I think Ailsa is really nice, we shared a wheelbarrow in Herbology once."  
  
"You think everyone is nice," Katie muttered under her breath.  
  
"I think the two suit each other," Lily said shortly. "I mean, they have the same mind."  
  
Amber looked at Lily and rolled her eyes. "Not true," she remarked. "James is a smart guy; you're mixing it up with his girl smart."  
  
"Boys don't have girl smart," said Katie perceptibly. "It's a known fact, like girls don't have guy smart. Anyway, isn't Ailsa, you know, Watson's girlfriend?"  
  
"The two broke up a month ago," Amber said. "I heard her crying about it in the bathrooms last week."  
  
"You know, James doesn't deserve to have a crush on an innocent girl like Ailsa," Lily said huffily. "I know Ailsa likes the romantic types of guys, if she ends up loving James, her heart will be crushed." Lily looked at her watch and realized that they had been talking for half an hour already. If they weren't quick then they would miss breakfast. "Hurry up you two," urged Lily, watching Amber tie back her hair. "I'm starving and I don't want to be late for class."  
  
"I'm done already," said Katie.  
  
"Yep," said Amber, fixing her watch to her wrist. "Me too, come on let's go."  
  
They made their way down to the Great Hall and sat down on the Gryffindor's table beside the Marauders. Lily wasn't too keen about seeing James again but she didn't protest. Her friends started piling up their place with toast and Lily, who hadn't had any dinner last night, was famished.  
  
"Morning Remus," said Amber cheerfully. "Peter – James." Sirius wasn't with them, so it was obvious that he'd gone off somewhere with Sabina, his girlfriend.  
  
"Hello Amber," said Remus politely. "Have you finished up on Comparable Species essay, Lily?"  
  
"Yep," said Lily forcing a smile on her face. "Just finished it this morning."  
  
"It was way too easy," said James confidently.  
  
"So I've heard," said Lily glaring at him.  
  
Amber looked curiously around the tables. "Hey, um, has anyone seen Wade?" (Wade was Amber's boyfriend.)  
  
James looked up from his focused gaze on Ailsa and gave Amber a nasty grin. "Yep," he said. "Up in the hospital wing with tentacles shooting out of his body."  
  
"W-what happened?" Amber stammered. "Is he alright?"  
  
"He'll be alright," said Remus looking disapprovingly at James. "Just a Hex that's all, nothing the nurse can't fix."  
  
"J-James and Wade got in a f-fight," Peter mumbled apprehensively. James glowered at Peter. Lily and Katie looked at James coldly.  
  
"What? James!" shouted Amber heatedly at him. He winced and Lily knew why with a smirk.  
  
Amber stood up and began beating him with her backpack. "You – and – you're – games –" She said, speaking each word as she pounded James back and forth with her exceptionally heavy bag. "Never – do – that – again!!!!"  
  
"Ms. Correy," squeaked a shocked voice behind her. "Stop that abusive feat right now!" Lily turned around and saw that Professor Flitwick was making his way down the Great Hall, watching Amber with increasing disbelief. "I'm going to have to take five points from Gryffindor!"  
  
Amber waited till Professor Flitwick has made his way to the front table before leaning forwards and looking at James in the face. "I'm warning you James," said Amber threateningly. "Don't hurt Wade again! You've done enough damage this week." Her eyes flashed towards Lily and with that she took her backpack and stormed out of the Great Hall.  
  
"I was just having a little fun," James muttered with a small smile on his face.  
  
"Well, fun for you isn't it, James?" said Lily furiously.  
  
"Don't you start with me Evans!" James replied in a shaking voice.  
  
"Of course not," Lily said in a soft whisper. She played around with the baked beans on her plate before standing and making her way to her first lesson.  
  
Katie looked up and gave a sigh. "Guess I have to follow," she said to the Marauders. "See you later." And she dashed after Lily.  
  
"Now tomorrow you are all aware that I'm going to give you a revision paper on Comparable Species Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall began as she paced the room. "I hope that you have all completed your essays, no overlarge writing I presume – "She caught Charlie's eye and the corners of her mouth twitched. "And I also hope that you have all been able to do the spell, I only wish you all the best of luck for the test."  
  
"She makes it sound as if we're dying," Katie muttered into Lily's ear.  
  
"I expect a passing grade from all of you," Professor McGonagall continued. "The paper will be graded out of fifty and you'll need a thirty to pass." She walked back to her desk and sat down. "After tomorrow we'll be starting another chapter, finally, on part human transformation." She took out her quill and dipped it into her ink well. "For now, open your books and begin reading Chapter Six."  
  
At that very moment a big boom resounded from a corridor close by. The whole class jumped in revelation and looked at Professor McGonagall to see her reaction. Lily, however, turned around to take a look at the Marauders and saw them sniggering helplessly at the back. She also noticed that Sirius wasn't with them. Her instincts turned thus to a conclusion that they were the source of the prank.  
  
"Hush everyone, please, be quiet!" said Professor McGonagall irritably. "Just open your books and start reading! I'll be back with you in a minute!" As she turned to leave everyone began talking in low whispers. It wasn't until she was completely out of earshot though that they increased their volume.  
  
"What was that?" asked Amber to Lily. "Sounded like another of those fireworks from last year."  
  
Charlie sniggered. "Sounded like it came from the Charms classroom," she murmured to them. "Think Peeves lost it and exploded Professor Flitwick?"  
  
Lily looked at Charlie critically. "Peeves wouldn't do that and you know it," Lily whispered back. "He just said that to gain attention – look at the Marauders though, I think they know something and Sirius is missing." The four girls turned around to see that the Marauders were still keeling over with laughter. "Typical of them."  
  
"I don't know," said Katie hesitantly. "Sirius might just be off with Sabina somewhere, in case you didn't know, she's not here too." Lily looked around and saw that Katie was right. But it wasn't like Sirius to miss any lesson except when it was critical. Katie made a sour face and opened her book to Chapter Six. "What's another explosion anyway? They've been going on everywhere anyhow."  
  
"You're not talking about the attacks by you-know-who are you?" asked Amber tentatively. "He can't be here?"  
  
"Don't be such a worry wart Amber," said Charlie with a grin. "If it isn't him then it's the Death Eaters – or Peeves pulling a trick!" She gave a snort into her book. "Typical of him to go around and pretend to be smart, cursing everyone."  
  
"Sounds like he lost his marbles," said Katie.  
  
"Most like him to," remarked Charlie, her already big grin expanding. "No, I think the whole ministry has gone nutters – them with their midnight assaults."  
  
Lily looked at Charlie disapprovingly. "So you'd like the Dark Mark hanging over your house when you come back from holidays?" she asked enquiringly.  
  
Charlie scowled. "You know that's not what I meant Lily."  
  
The whole class could hear footsteps coming closer and they all hastily opened their books and pretended to be reading. Professor McGonagall looked very dismal indeed when she entered the classroom. Lily looked up and dared to ask a question, "Professor, what –"  
  
"Aiken Peeves, once more," she replied, obviously knowing what Lily was about to ask. "He's tomfoolery has gone above proportions." She sat down wearily and looked at Lily with a sombre expression. "That was a firework, Evans, Peeves tossed it in the corridor and apparently it had bounced back upon his forehead. If he isn't careful, he'll end up dying in this very castle."  
  
The four girls turned around and, exchanging glances, sniggered behind their chairs. Peeves was a third-year. But he seemed to have grown onto James's habits when it came to pranks. Peeves had grown the habit to pull pranks every now and then. He might be a third-year but Peeves was already fifteen years old. It was a known fact that his parents had decided to start him in school a little later then usual.  
  
The rest of the Transfiguration class was spent in silence. Lily read and reread Chapter Six over and over again until the bell rang to signal that classes were over. Professor McGonagall stood up in front of the class looking as relieved as they did. "Remember to study hard for your test tomorrow," she said, bellowing over the loud voices that came from the hall. "I expect good grades from everyone, passing grades at the least."  
  
Lily packed up her books and left the class along with Charlie, Katie and Amber.  
  
On the way back to the Gryffindor common room they met up with Sirius and Sabina. Katie and Sabina stared daggers at each other.  
  
"Why weren't you at class?" asked Katie inquisitively. "We have a Transfiguration Test tomorrow."  
  
Sabina glared at Katie with great dislike before pulling on a misleadingly innocent mask. "Sirius and I met up with Professor Dumbledore," she said warmly, hanging onto Sirius's arm. "We had a little chat with him in his office." Katie folded her arms and just glared at her response. Sabina ignored it and instead turned to Lily. "Anyway, a little revision test is nothing to the likes of you, Evans, huh?"  
  
Lily gave Sabina a short smile. Unlike Katie Lily didn't hate Sabina. Truth be told, Sabina was actually a very congenial person. But somehow Lily couldn't agree with Sabina there. As much as Lily hated to admit it, she was actually a horror when it came to Comparable Species spells, as she realised in class. "I know I'll pass," lied Lily. Pride and dignity first, Lily thought to herself. Don't spill the truth when it's not necessary ...  
  
A/N: So Lily has a weakness, will it cost her in the next chapter? Will she pass the test? Please R/R!!  
  
Replies to a few reviewers:  
  
Niloath:: I'm trying to do my best to not make James such a 'dolt.' But it is exceptionally hard when, in actual truth, I kind of REALLY hate James. I wanted to do a Lily and James fanfic because I wanted to change my own view on the pair. Sorry if I do make him such an idiot though. It'll soon change.  
  
Lightstorm:: Yep, I actually have the whole fanfiction sorted out. I just haven't written it all down. I've already completed the third chapter though and I'm on my way on completing the forth!  
  
Cherry:: If you read through the first chapter again you'll realize that James says: "She's not my girlfriend." Emma is among the many flings James has with girls. Just like now he has a crush on Ailsa Umbridge, lol. But Lily was different. James used to have a major crush on Lily. But now he hates her. He'd do anything to take revenge on her ...  
  



	3. Chapter Three

::Midnight Lily::

PG 

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Three

Lily sat, the next day, at the Gryffindor table with bad feelings in her stomach. She wasn't really hungry, in fact, she felt like she was about to hurl at any moment. To make matters worst Charlie and Sabina kept going on about how easy the test of Comparable Species was going to be. Lily knew that both of them hadn't even studied at all. Lily however had spent most of last night memorizing the whole Comparable Species chapter.

That morning she had bags under her eyelids and she could barely keep her head up.

Lily kept opening her bag in a hurry to check up on figures and examples. She was so sure that she hadn't remembered them all. In the middle of scooping up her fried tomatoes she quickly set them aside to open her book once more.

"Lily!" Katie cried out. She accidentally dropped the sausage she had on her fork. "That is the umpteenth time you've opened that book! You're really starting to scare me."

"I know, I know," said Lily absentmindedly. She flipped through her pages and found the information she was looking for. "I just wasn't sure whether I had the rat and mouse thing sorted out yet. Do you think she'll ask for the difference between the two?"

"I think she'll just ask how it can go wrong," said Sabina distinctly. "Or what is the correct spell and how it would change?"

"That's practically the same thing!" said Lily frenziedly. She dropped her fork and took out her wand.

"Not doing anything dangerous with that, are you, Evans?" a drawling voice came from behind her.

Lily turned around and saw that the Marauders were behind her. "Of course not, Sirius," Lily said. "But I might have to if you keep sneaking up on us." Nevertheless, she placed her wand back into her front pocket, and continued flipping the pages of her Transfiguration book.

The Marauders laughed and sat beside them, in a flash they had taken bacon, eggs, ham, fried tomatoes, porridge and cereal, and had placed it on the plates in front of them.

"You guys certainly have an appetite," Sabina remarked, moving closer to her boyfriend, Sirius.

"Yep," said Peter digging into his ham and eggs.

"We spent all night practicing for today's Comparable Species test," Lupin informed them. "We're all ready."

"I didn't see you in the common room," said Amber suspiciously.

"Oh," said Sirius, his eye twinkling slyly. "We weren't in the common room." Lupin turned pale.

"Out in the middle of the night," said Charlie huffily as they watched the Marauders leave the table. "How did they manage it without getting caught? They do it all the time and never get caught!"

Lily shook her head. Sometimes she too wondered how they managed to walk out leisurely after dark. Last year Charlie and Katie had gone out after hours and they had been caught in an instant by the caretaker. Lily, of course, never broke a rule.

Her mind quickly turned back to the Comparable Species test. They had Transfiguration last, luckily, but she needed a miracle to pass this time. She knew that her results weren't going to be good, not even fair, she just knew. She had this sinking feeling in her stomach. She had pride.

After breakfast she quickly searched the Great Hall for the person she was looking for. He would have the answers. He could help her succeed. She was desperate; if she failed she knew she would just cry – she'd just have to do this carefully. Then she found him. Leaning against a classroom door casually and watching the students pass by. His name was Alex Watson.

Lily quickly told her friends to go off without her then she walked up to him. Alex Watson knew every back alley – he could have been part of the Marauders if he wanted to, but no. He was as sly as Sirius and as engaging as James. His last girlfriend was Ailsa Umbridge. He brushed away a lock of his dark brown hair and stared at her with his mischievously brown eyes. "Why, hello Lily!" He called out to her.

"Hi, Alex," said Lily. Then she dropped her voice, "I need to ask a favour from you."

Alex looked around suspiciously then opened the door behind him. "Step into my office." Lily followed after him, looking around her apprehensively, but no one noticed that she was with Alex. "My, my, my, Lily Evans! This is history – never thought I'd see you come up to me!"

Lily avoided his gaze.

Alex's face turned serious and he sat down at the teacher's table.

"What terrible deed do you wish to accomplish?"

Lily caught up with her friends as they made their way to the greenhouse. The sun was shining oddly brighter then usual and Lily had a faint suspicion that it knew exactly what she had talked about with Alex.

"Where were you?" asked Katie enquiringly. "We thought the Marauders had you." Lily grinned; a likely story.

They had Herbology with Professor Stebbins in Greenhouse Seven that day with the Slytherins. As Lily and her friends made their way to the greenhouse, they saw a huge crowd form in front of the door, and person was shouting very loudly. This could mean only one thing. "Potter!!" Lily stormed through the crowd to see that Sirius had his wand to Snape's throat.

"Sirius?" Lily gasped in shock.

James was standing, innocently enough, at the side but his face was full of hatred. He turned and saw that Lily was watching him. They stared at each other for a moment before turning back to see Sirius grab Snape by the throat. Why wasn't James breaking up the fight? He was Head Boy after all.

"Sirius, let go of him!" Remus shouted. "It's not worth it! Just let him go!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Snape wheezed. "You wouldn't dare kill me!"

Sirius's grip tightened its hold on Snape's throat. "Oh ya?" asked Sirius, anger running through his veins. "You want to bet your life on it?"

"What's going on?" Lily asked, breathing heavily.

James was the one to answer, "Severus was the one who started it! He called me a mudblood! Then he called Moony a filthy mutt! He knows the consequences! He knows what happens when he threatens the Marauders!" James's voice was beyond hatred. It was loathsome.

"Sirius!" Lily yelled to him. She slowly took out her wand. "You let go of him! You're knee-deep in trouble! If you don't let go now it's going to be much worst!"

Sirius eyed the wand in Lily's hand – then at his grip on Snape's throat. Slowly he let go of Snape's neck.

"Sure," Remus muttered. "Listen to her."

A group of Slytherins grabbed Snape by the shoulders and hauled him back. They muttered words of disgust towards Sirius, who glared back at them menacingly.

"Sirius," said Lily. "As much as I hate this, I'm going to have to take twenty points from Gryffindor."

James's eyes bulged. "TWENTY?"

Lily turned to him. "Yes." All the Gryffindors around them went into a tumult.

"I'll have a say in this, Evans," said a severe voice from behind the crowd. Professor Stebbins appeared and glared at Sirius irately. "Sirius, you'll be doing detention for two days and I'll have to take another twenty points from Gryffindor. Now come on, we've already delayed a lesson with your squabbling."

Slowly the crowd made their way into Greenhouse Seven.

"Everyone in," said Professor McGonagall sternly. "Let's not delay any time."

The group of Gryffindors made their way into the classroom and sat down. It was their last lesson for the day, Transfiguration, and everyone was tense about the Comparable Species test that they were about to take. But no one was nearly as tense about the test as Lily. She sat near the middle of the class with Amber. Charlie and Katie had decided to take front row seats. Lily's heart was beating so fast that she was surprised that no one else had heard it and told it to shut up.

"I'll hand out the papers," Professor McGonagall continued. "But you won't start until I say so. There will be no cheating whatsoever; no looking over your friend's paper, no spells to make the answers appear, no writing the answers on your hand and absolutely no books in the classroom – Mr. Pettigrew!"

Peter hurriedly placed his book back into his bag and took it to the front of the class.

"You will start NOW!"

Lily turned her test papers around and looked at the first question: 'What are the difficulties when it comes to Comparable Species charms? Give two examples.' Lily placed her quill onto the sheet of paper. She watched Professor McGonagall pace the room, once in a while catching people cheating and threatening them with a zero. Her breathing came quick and uneven.

"Oh my," she whispered softly to the paper.

Slowly the answer came in her handwriting for the first question. She read it and gave a short smile. She really had to thank Alex Watson for his genius work. He had said that whatever Professor McGonagall did to try and see if she had cheated, it wouldn't show. Lily completed the next question, and then the next. Each answer coming through with ease in her handwriting. She noticed that it stopped whenever Professor McGonagall was coming her way. At those points of time she would pretend to be thinking really hard on what to write next.

Finally after some time Professor McGonagall said loudly, "Quills down! – That means you Lupin!"

Everyone gave a sigh as the bell rang, signalling the end of class. Some of the students began to make their way out of the classroom after Professor McGonagall. Others like Lily and her friends stayed in the classroom to discuss on how the test was.

"I think I did alright," said Katie first. "I'm definite that I didn't fail but it would be a surprise to get full marks; I skipped two questions."

"Yep," said Amber uncertainly. "What about question sixteen though, huh? State the hardest Comparable Species and discuss why."

"Do you think you did alright Lily?" Sabina asked; her arm around Sirius's shoulder. "I did great."

Lily didn't say anything. She handed the quill back to Alex, thanking him a million times out loud and in her head.

Charlie smiled at Lily. "Bet you did better then the rest of us!" Charlie said loudly. "You would have full marks! Professor McGonagall would give you loads of points for Gryffindor because of you!" They slowly made their way out of the classroom.

"Coming Lily?" asked Amber when she saw that Lily wasn't following them.

"I'll be with you in a second!" said Lily. "My bag seems to have a hole in it, I'll just patch it up, don't wait for me!" Amber walked off as a bottle full of ink fell down and shattered. Glass and black ink flew across the floor, soaking the edges of Lily's robes. "Oh my, I just bought that two days ago."

"At Hogsmeade I bet," said James softly behind her.

Lily eyed him heatedly. "Yes." She took out her wand and made the hole disappear from her bag, and then with another flick of her wand, she made the ink and glass disappear. She saw that James was still looking at her. "What are you staring at Potter?"

"I know what you did," he said, leaning on the desk behind him. "I saw you."

"Saw what?" asked Lily crossly as she slung her bag over her shoulders. But her heart seemed to be racing at that particular moment. Had he seen her cheating? He was the second last person she wanted to have had seen her cheating in a test. Professor McGonagall being the first.

"I saw you using Watson's quill," he said tonelessly. "It's a masterpiece, isn't it? I've used it in a couple of occasions myself."

"Wonder why," said Lily sarcastically. Her heart seemed to be racing on for miles but she tried to keep cool. She could feel her face heating up and sweat beads starting at the top of her forehead. James walked up to her, grinning.

"You know I'll tell."

"Potter," Lily began. "Please, don't!"

"What," said James wrathfully. "After you publicly humiliate me? Pass up a better way to seek revenge?"

Lily looked at him. "I'll do anything," she said, her voice becoming desperate. "But please don't tell Professor McGonagall."

The look James gave her made Lily's skin crawl. "I don't know what you can do for me, Evans," he said desolately. "What would I want from a shoddy princess like you? I have to do the right thing, Evans." He gave her a bigger grin. "And the right thing would be to tell Professor McGonagall."

"You're just doing that because I snitched on Sirius!" Lily shouted feverishly. "I'll earn back the points if you don't tell!"

"Points that you took away in the first place?" James roared back.

"Professor Stebbins was going to take them away anyway!" Lily said frantically.

James looked at her with disgust. "I just don't believe you, Evans," he said, dangerously soft. "You above all people to cheat."

"James," Lily said softly. She sat down and looked at the ground. "Please, don't, I'll do anything, anything you want, please – just don't tell." She felt tears prick the inside of her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. What would James care if she cried? It would just make matters worst. "James, please."

"Well," he said slowly. Lily could hear pity in his voice. "Maybe there is one thing you could do for me..." Lily looked up and saw that James was giving her a smile. Lily stood up and looked him in the eye.

"Just name it."

James looked at Lily.

"As you know the Graduation Ball is coming soon and I want to ask Ailsa Umbridge to go with me. I know it sounds crazy but I really don't know how to ask her out. Maybe you could pose as my girlfriend? I've heard that Umbridge is a real suck up for romantic, genuine guys and all. But you know, by my records, that isn't really me. Just for a couple of weeks. Then I'll dump you and she'll be sure to ask me out."

Lily looked at him as if he was mad. A few weeks posing as James's girlfriend? Was she really that desperate to play the move?

"Fine."

A/N: A few weeks posing as James's girlfriend? Is she mad?! Please R/R!!


	4. Chapter Four

::Midnight Lily::  
  
PG  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
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Lily made her way back to her dormitory in silence. She kept thinking about the deal she had made with James and about how she had cheated in the test. If she had just studied harder then maybe she wouldn't have cheated and then she wouldn't be in the situation she was in now. What had forced her to go to Alex anyway? What had forced her to use the 'Watson' Quill?  
  
It was just that little voice in her head. The one that said that if she failed – she'd have disgraced herself. Furious at herself, Lily opened the door of her dormitory and saw that Amber and Katie were talking in soft voices.  
  
"Hi Lily! Where were you?" asked Katie when she saw who had entered the dormitory.  
  
"I was stitching up my bag," Lily reminded her. She walked to her bed and placed her troublesome bag to the side. Then she began to untie her shoelaces. Lily took a couple of deep breathes to cool down her rage. "What were you up to?"  
  
"Nothing much," Amber replied. She walked up to Lily's bed and sat down beside her. "Are you okay?"  
  
Lily shot them a glance. "Amber's right," Katie said, walking up to Lily's bed as well. "I mean, you look very uptight."  
  
Lily looked at Amber and sighed, "I'm alright." She stood up after she finished taking off her shoes and then just realized what she had said. Of course she wasn't alright. Right now, her whole body was fuming at what she had done. Why hadn't she just hit him with a Memory Charm and be done with it? Why hadn't she thought of doing just that instead of getting herself in so much trouble?  
  
"No, I'm not alright," Lily said suddenly. "I just, – HATE JAMES POTTER!!!" She chucked her left shoe across the room, where it slammed into the wall between Charlie and Katie's bed, making a loud hollow thump. "I HATE HIM!!!!!" She roared. She blinked back the tears that had begun to show up in the Transfiguration classroom.  
  
"Lily," said Amber gently. She stood up and forced Lily down onto her bed. "Angel, what's wrong? What happened?"  
  
Lily looked at Amber. Revealing the pact she had made with James would reveal that she had cheated in the test; but, what would her friends think when she began to be James's girlfriend? The very thought made her skin crawl. Worst, she had cheated; they would pressure her to tell the truth to Professor McGonagall, to do the right thing. All of her efforts would have summed up to nothing.  
  
Telling Amber what she had done would be alright. Amber would keep secrets. She wouldn't pressure her to do anything she wouldn't like. But Katie was different. Even though Katie was Lily's best friend, she had a sort of blind eye when it came to gossip. She usually wasn't the kind to keep secrets. Even if they were the kind of friends who would think it would be alright – Lily couldn't tell. If she told then she would be hurting herself.  
  
"Nothing," Lily said finally. "I'm – just overreacting that's all."  
  
There was a long pause.  
  
Forcing a smile on her face, Lily finally said, "Katie, tell me the story of Midnight Lily again."  
  
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Lily woke up with a start. It was still dark and the dormitory was completely silent. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep but she couldn't. The wind outside was howling loudly and rain splattered against the windows. At the far end of the dormitory, a window was wide open and thrashed wildly.  
  
Lily groaned and quickly walked towards it. Who would have been stupid enough to open a window in this weather? She fastened the lock as thunder boomed heavily from outside. A flash of lightning past Lily's vision. She looked outside the window. The full moon was casting a brilliant beam across the sky. Lily looked down and saw dark silhouettes linger at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.  
  
A large black dog bound forwards in hot pursuit towards another sinister shadow. Then a third shape, larger then the rest of the four, formed beside them. To Lily it looked like a horse of some sort. She closed her eyes and shook her head then looked out the window again – the silhouettes were gone.  
  
Thinking to herself that she had gone completely mad, Lily made her way to her dressing table and sat down. In the mirror was the reflection of herself.  
  
Her red locks were matted in a sort of enigmatic way. For a few seconds, she suddenly realized why James like his hair ruffled, before she shook the thought out. The last person she wanted to think about was James. So this was how she looked?  
  
Lightning flashed and her emerald eyes sparkled softly. Her friends were right in a way. She had looks. She had brains. Lily Evans could ask any guy to the Graduation Ball and he'd go with her. But then why was she worrying? She could always just take Remus. But then again she didn't want to always drag him in for her sake.  
  
Lily thought back to previous years. Why had she never fallen in love? The answer came almost instinctively. Her friends made the decisions for her. Every time she fell in love her friends would be the ones to pinpoint whether the boy was good or not. Lily had been on many dates. But no guy had ever passed a date with Lily Evans. Not even James. It was said to be a miracle.  
  
Lily gave a short sigh then made her way back to her four-posted bed. By the unexplained bay of the wind and the heavy downpour of rain, Lily, against all odds, fell asleep.  
  
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Lily ate her breakfast alone that morning in a very content manner. Lily had only slept for three hours where she had ended up waking at four. The rain was now a mere drizzle and was slowly coming to a cease. A rainbow was cast across the Great Hall's magical ceiling where first years continued to point at it and gasp. The colours that reflected onto the floor gave the Great Hall a somewhat peaceful look. Completely absorbed in a book, Lily didn't notice at first when James came to sit beside her.  
  
"Hey, Evans," James said composedly. He took a slice of toast and began to spread butter and jam onto it.  
  
Lily closed her book to look at him. "Hello," Lily replied. "What are you doing up so early?"  
  
"Quidditch practice," James replied. "Just look around and tell me if Ailsa is here." His face started to go a little red.  
  
Lily looked around and spotted Ailsa on the Hufflepuff table. She was chatting animatedly to her two friends. Lily was surprised that a girl like her would even wake up this early. "She's here," Lily said softly. She had no idea what James had in plan to make Ailsa think he was romantic but she knew that she wouldn't like it at all. "Do you have a plan?"  
  
"No," James said shortly. Lily shot him an impatient glance. "Come on, how am I supposed to know what girls find 'dreamy?'"  
  
Lily sighed. "So am I supposed to come up with a plan for you?" she asked heatedly. "Because you know I'm not going to do that – I have so much work to do for my NEWTs!"  
  
"And I don't?" James said in a dangerous tone. "What, am I supposed to be the one writing poetry and making up songs every night?"  
  
"If you really want to show her that you're a good guy, then yes," Lily replied. She poured some more syrup on her oats and tasted it.  
  
James gave Lily a quick look. Lily tried to catch it but it was too fast. Did he just give her a smile? But then he said, "Do you think I'm a good guy?"  
  
Lily spooned up some of her oats. What did she think of James? At first she thought he was pathetic with all the pranks he pulled to gain her attention. She thought that he was low and foul. But when she agreed to go on a date with him it was different. She had thought that she could change him. But now?  
  
"I really don't know," Lily said, shaking her head in resignation. "You say that you can make improvements – but I'm really not so sure Potter, I don't know what to believe now."  
  
James's face fell.  
  
"If you don't want to help me with a plan, then fine," he said. "I'll come up with something soon and I'll let you know then, okay?"  
  
"Fine with me," said Lily grimly.  
  
James finished the last bit of his toast then stood up. He swung his bag onto his shoulder and then looked down at Lily. "Can you tell me something?" he asked her after some time of thought.  
  
Lily finished her oats and picked up her book again. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
"What," he said slowly, turning red again. "Um, what do girls find romantic from guys?"  
  
"Commitment," Lily said dully. "Something you, James Potter, will never have."  
  
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A/N: Sorry if this chapter is too short. I'll make a longer chapter next time, promise. Please R/R!!  
  
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Replies to a few reviewers:  
  
Miroku's Child-bearer:: I guess Lily was very stressed out about her end-of- year exams at the moment and she felt that she couldn't afford even one fail. And you're right about James being Head Boy as well. I remember Lupin saying something about him being made Head Boy by Dumbledore because they thought that he would keep his friends out of trouble. Oh well.  
  
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	5. Chapter Five

::Midnight Lily::

PG 

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Five

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A week past distractedly. The teachers seemed to be pressuring their students to work harder and study more then they've ever had before. Lily seemed to be suffering more then any of her friends under the weight she was carrying. She had received her results for the Comparable Species Exam from Professor McGonagall three days after the exam. This had seemed to have had a strange influence on her to work harder. Even though she had received full marks.

She wasn't the only one who was doubling her study efforts either. James could also be seen, with the other players of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, practicing endlessly into the night. Their first match against Hufflepuff had been a failure and now they were about to verse Ravenclaw. There were rumours that they had a new seeker, Felicity Davies, who had the new Comet two-sixty.

With all the activities going on in the Gryffindor common room, the end of that week came to a strange high note, even Lily had set her books aside to relax. That Saturday afternoon, everyone had either decided to spend their time outside, beside the lake, or in the common room, joking around. Lily joined in a game of Exploding Snaps with her friends in the common room. Their seventh game finished with a big bang, which surprised many of the first years who were watching.

"Do you want to go for another round?" Charlie asked eagerly. "Loser buys all of us butterbeers in the next Hogsmeade weekend!"

Katie gave a sigh. "I'll pass," she said, standing up. "I think I'll go and have a rest."

"I'll come with you," said Lily quickly. She didn't want to take chances with Charlie's winning streak this afternoon.

So the both of them made their way back up to the dormitory.

Katie sat on her bed and pulled her shoes off, not bothering to untie the laces. Lily sat down on her dressing table. "Lily, are you going back home for Christmas?" Katie asked inquisitively.

"I'm not so sure," Lily said. "I'll have to ask my parents." Then she thought of the deal she had made with James. "Then again, maybe I'll just stay here." She picked up her brush and began combing her hair.

"Ya, me too," Katie agreed. "My parents are never home for Christmas anyway, always out on emergencies."

"Your dad's an Unspeakable, right?" Lily asked.

"Yep," Katie said dolefully. "I don't know why he's so hooked up in the Department of Mysteries, the place gives me the creeps every time I go down there." She walked up to Lily and looked at herself in the mirror. "Remember I told you about the accident he had last year? When he was sent back twenty years in time? I thought I'd never see him again."

Lily looked up to see Katie frown. Lily knew how much Katie hated that her father worked as an Unspeakable. But Katie still loved her dad and Lily knew she would be worried if anything ever happened to him. Lily had remembered last year when Katie's father had gone missing. It was a nightmare trying to comfort Katie.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if my dad went missing again," Katie continued furiously. "My mum always said that his job would end his life. Why did he have to be an Unspeakable in the first place?"

"He's handling everything well so far," Lily remarked.

Katie didn't say anything.

"Tell you what," Lily suggested. "The next Hogsmeade weekend is before Christmas – why don't we go do our Christmas shopping there?"

There was short silence while Katie thought it over. Then – "Does Sabina have to follow?"

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The Hogsmeade weekend, however, wasn't till another two more weeks. On the other hand the Quidditch match with Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor was only a week away and tensions were rising. Apparently, according to Wade Freeman, Amber's boyfriend and the Quidditch Captain, Felicity Davies was better then they'd have thought.

Another desperate situation for the Gryffindor team was that their beater, Toby Stuart, was currently injured after running into the Whomping Willow Tree. It had been a shallow bet produced by the chaser of the Slytherin team. Obviously they didn't want Gryffindor to win the cup this year. Wade seemed to be constantly in the verge of a breakdown and Amber could often be found comforting her boyfriend in the common room by the fireplace every night.

One night, Wade returned from visiting Toby in the hospital wing.

"Wade," Amber said soothingly as she kneeled beside him. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Toby will be alright, he's had injuries worst then this."

"We need to have him practicing for our next match," Wade said flatly. "Not up in the Hospital Wing acting sick."

Unfortunately at that moment, Charlie was walking past and heard what Wade had said. "Toby isn't 'acting sick!'" Charlie said heatedly. "He really is in pain, how would you feel if you had your bones broken in four different places!" Toby Stuart was Charlie's younger brother by three years.

"Charlie, please," Amber said softly.

Charlie let out a grunt of disapproval towards Wade then stormed up the stairs into the girl's dormitory.

"She's right," Wade said with a sigh. "And if we lose this match against Ravenclaw, we'd be out for the running of the Quidditch cup for sure. Maybe I should find somebody else to play beater – the match is in five days and I doubt he'd recover that fast. He still has broken ribs, for goodness sake."

Wade looked around the common room and caught sight of Katie talking with Lily. He stood up. "Hey, Katie! Want to play beater for the upcoming match?" It was a known fact that Katie had been a chaser in her third and fourth year before giving it up.

Katie looked at Wade and gave him a grin. "Nice try," she said. "But I'm not playing." She turned back to Lily and continued talking.

"Fiona!" Wade called out through the crowd. A fourth year girl turned around to look at Wade coyly. "How about playing beater against your brother?"

"No thanks, Freeman," she said repentantly, shaking her short mousse brown hair side to side. "I'm not up to playing against Lee, he's two years older then me and way stronger." The girls beside her giggled.

Wade sunk down low into his armchair. "It's hopeless," he said. "We're goners."

Amber bit her lip. "Why don't I play?" she offered.

Wade hid a smirk. "You? Play?" he asked defiantly. "I'm sorry, Amber, but I can't see you on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"I know a couple of moves!" Amber said in indignation.

Wade looked at her. "I don't know," he said slowly. "It's nice of you to offer but I was really hoping to find someone – good."

Amber looked at him huffily.

"Oh, fine," Wade said in resignation. "But only if Toby isn't well."

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The morning before the Quidditch match was cold and dank. It had obviously rained during the night and a slight fog was cast across the lake. Unfortunately, Toby was still up in the hospital wing with a broken rib, which meant that Amber was to play in his place as beater. She woke up early to change into Katie's Gryffindor Quidditch Robes. She seemed to shake slightly as she took out her broomstick from underneath her bed. Once she was sure that she was completely ready, they made their way down to the Great Hall.

Amber refused to eat anything her friends offered her. Wade didn't come until later, at which he almost collapsed when he saw Amber in the Quidditch robes. Soon enough the whole of the Gryffindor Quidditch team arrived. They ate in silence. Jamie Stuart, the other beater and Charlie and Toby's brother, kept making spiteful glances at Amber and her attire.

"They hate me," Amber whispered. "They completely hate me!"

"They don't," Lily protested. "It's just – the outfit's something they have to get used to."

"It – it looks alright," Wade said unconvincingly.

Amber stared at her boyfriend as if he was mad, but she didn't say anything.

Soon enough it was time. The Gryffindor Quidditch team stood up and began to leave the Great Hall, along with the Ravenclaw team. The Slytherins all hissed and booed at the Gryffindors, shouting out shrewd comments.

"That's no beater!" shouted a dark-haired, fifth-year Slytherin boy. "Hey! Where's Toby Stuart? Still up in the hospital wing, acting sick?!"

"TOBY ISN'T 'ACTING SICK!!!'" Charlie roared across the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall came towards her and took away five points from Gryffindor. Lily gave Charlie a dismayed look. She hated the fact that her friends could lose so many points without even trying. "Let's just go to the Quidditch pitch and get good seats," Charlie said, giving the Slytherin fifth-year a disgusted glance. "Amber needs the support."

Lily couldn't agree more. They finished their breakfast quickly then stood up and made their way to the Quidditch pitch. Sun was pouring from a clearing beneath the clouds but the grass was still soggy and drenched.

As Lily made her way across the grounds, she caught sight of Ailsa Umbridge, chatting freely with the beater of the Hufflepuff team, Anders Bonds. He laughed at a joke Ailsa made and stroked his dark hair lightly. Lily wondered why Ailsa was talking to Anders. It was obvious that Ailsa wasn't interested in Quidditch. But then again they could just be talking about the homework a teacher had set for them.

"What are you looking at, Lily?" Charlie asked nosily. "Is it Bonds? He's really cute isn't he? Want me to set the two of you up?"

"No," Lily said quickly, maybe too quickly.

"All right then," said Charlie. "Probably the right thing too, just look at Ailsa, what a total flirt."

"I heard Ailsa's into Anders," Katie said softly so that Ailsa and Anders couldn't hear. "Rumoured that she'll ask him to go with her for the Graduation Ball."

"She is?" Lily staggered. "But how about James?"

"When have you ever cared about James?" Katie asked darkly. "He doesn't deserve Ailsa."

"Ya," Lily said. "Let's just go and find some seats, all right?" There were already a lot of people making their way towards the Quidditch pitch. As they made their way through the rises, they saw a group of Slytherins bantering on about how the Gryffindors were going to lose, they all held flags in heir hands which flashed slogans like 'Correy can't handle a bat' and 'Potter's lost his cogs.'

"Hey Stuart!" shouted a sixth-year boy with blonde hair. "Toby still up in the hospital wing isn't he? Laying it a bit thick, don't you think?" The Slytherins beside him laughed and waved their flags which suddenly read 'Toby's laying it thick.'

Lily and Katie had to hold Charlie back as a stream of colourful language escaped her mouth. "Want me to give you a broken rib, Bodds?" Charlie scorned. "Weren't too brave last year when a bludger flew into your stomach! Couldn't eat at the Halloween feast, could you?!"

"Save it," Lily whispered into Charlie's ears. They made their way up the rises and took a seat beside Sirius and Sabina.

"What was that all about, Charlie?" Sabina asked questioningly, nudging her head towards the crowd of Slytherins below them.

"Nothing," Charlie growled. "I just hate the lot of them, parading around with snooty noses up in the air."

Sirius grinned. "You'd think they'd all be a lot more reserved," he said. "What with Voldemort being from their house and all."

"Don't say his name, Sirius!" Sabina hissed. "You honestly want him around, cursing you to death?!"

"Ah, but he won't be around here, will he?" Sirius said, his eye twinkling. "Safest place in the world, Hogwarts, with Dumbledore here."

Sabina eyed him but said nothing more.

"Oh! Look! It's about to start!" Lily exclaimed, as a group of scarlet and blue began to march themselves to the centre of the pitch. "Amber doesn't look so good, does she?" She didn't. As the Gryffindor Quidditch Team made their way towards the referee, Madame Hooch, Amber seemed be swaying slightly out of nerves. Her face had gone pale. On the other hand, Felicity Davies, the Ravenclaw seeker, didn't look so good either.

"Shake hands," Madame Hooch said. Wade and Brett grabbed each others hand and shook politely. Brett gave Wade a forthcoming smile but Wade didn't seem to notice. "Mount you brooms." Then, came a loud blow of a silver whistle and fifteen brooms rose up into the air.

"The Quaffle is instantly caught by William King of Gryffindor," commentated Harvey Brawket, a fourth-year Hufflepuff. "He passes to Emma Dahl, who does an arched pass to Martha Tilford, she passes – no, a Bludger hit by Nick Anderson, and she drops it – David Reid now in possession of the Quaffle, throws it to Captain Dolce, who does a quick pass back to Reid."

Lily kept a close eye on Amber, who seemed to be trying to dodge Bludgers rather then hit them. Her bat seemed to lay forgotten in her hand.

"Henry Fisher passes to Reid," Harvey continued. "King tries to steal the Quaffle – no, misses, Reid passes to Dolce who sc – no, stopped by Captain and Keeper Wade Freeman – Dahl now in possession, passes to Tilford who tosses it back to Dahl – ducks a bludger sent by Anderson, she throws and – GRYFFINDOR SCORES!!" Lily cheered along with Katie and Charlie. Sabina jumped up and down on her seat with excitement.

"Hey, Correy," came a low voice from behind her.

Amber turned around to look at Jamie.

"Just keep your eye on the game will you?" he scowled. "If you're playing in Toby's place, at least do the job properly." He dived his broom down low and hit a bludger at David Reid who was currently in possession. He dropped the Quaffle and it was instantly caught by King.

Amber looked around and caught her eye on Felicity Davies who was streaking across the pitch in desperate pursuit for the Golden Snitch. James was hovering a few feet away, paying attention to the match and not watching what Felicity was up to. "JAMES!!!" Amber shouted out to him and pointed at Davies who was inches away from catching the Snitch.

James looked at Davies in surprise and pelted after her. But it was no use – she had too much of an advantage.

Without thinking, Amber swung her bat and hit a Bludger towards Davies. It hit the tip of her Comet two-sixty and Davies swung off course. In those few crucial moments the Snitch had disappeared.

James flew his broomstick beside Amber and gave her a smile. "Thanks."

"Captain Dolce of Ravenclaw seems to be halfway to hysterics," Harvey commentated with a grin. "A nice hit by Correy, the Snitch has disappeared again – just hope Potter pays more attention next time – Tilford in possession, no, Dolce has stolen the Quaffle, passes to Fisher, who makes a quick throw to Reid, back to Fisher – and RAVENCLAW SCORES!!"

James's smile fell. Wade Freeman, who was beaming up at Amber, looked down to see Henry Fisher give him a quick smile. They were now equal. Gryffindor had scored once and so had Ravenclaw.

"King now in possession of the Quaffle," Harvey continued. "He passes to Tilford, who makes a quick toss to Dahl, she passes Dolce, Reid – Fisher steals the Quaffle, passes to Dolce, throws it back to Fisher, King tries to steal the Quaffle – but he misses – RAVENCLAW SCORES TWENTY TO TEN!!"

"James, hurry up and catch that Snitch," Wade said irritably.

"He's just upset," James explained to Amber. "He hates it when he misses." James flew off and began searching for the Snitch. On the other side of the Quidditch pitch, Felicity Davies was doing the same thing. During the game, Ravenclaw scored once more and the sixth-year boy with blonde hair, Bodds, turned around to wave his flag at Charlie.

"Gryffindor in possession, King passes to Tilford – throws to Dahl, passes back to Tilford – ouch! A Bludger hit by Lee Hazell hits Tilford on her shoulder and she drops the Quaffle – Dolce catches it and throws to Reid, who passes back to Dolce, who tosses it to Fisher – Quaffle stolen by Dahl, tosses it to King – LOOK AT POTTER GO!!!"

Everyone's heads was turned to James, who was shooting across the pitch, a golden fleck a few inches ahead of him. Soon enough, Davies was hot on his trail, her Comet two-sixty almost overcoming James's broom. They were just a blue, scarlet and gold blur, flying across the pitch at high speed. They cut into a sharp dive – twenty feet in the air – streaming down in a blur of colours. The whole crowd were on their feet cheering the two Seekers on.

A few inches from the ground, the Snitch swerved off course and was hurtling towards the Ravenclaw goalposts. James was the first to pull out of the dive – Davies, not being fast enough, came crashing into the sodden soil, mud flying on her robes and into the sky. James however, was still racing towards the Snitch, he stretched out his hand in desperate chase.

James came to a halt beside the Ravenclaw goalposts, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.

The stands erupted. Lily, Katie and Charlie hugged each other, jumping up and down. Sabina gave Sirius a big hug and, to Katie's disgust, Sirius gave her a warm kiss on the lips back. Remus and Peter shouted their voices hoarse cheering, "James caught the Snitch! James caught the Snitch!" Down on the pitch, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team gathered in an enormous hug. Wade was beside himself in elation.

"ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TO THIRTY!!!!" he roared to his team.

Felicity Davies gave James a smile and shook his hand supportively. "Should have pulled out of that dive earlier," she kept saying, her light brown hair flying everywhere. "But well done, Potter, you did really well!!"

"So you're going to the Finals," Amber said to Wade as they made their way back to the Gryffindor locker room.

"No," Wade said. "WE are going to the Finals – you're going to be with us, Toby's a fifth year, he'll have loads of time to play Quidditch – but this is our last time."

"And hey," James remarked from behind them. "Maybe this time we'll win the Quidditch Cup."

"That would be nice," Wade said contemplatively.

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A/N: There, a longer chapter, ten pages long. I'm sorry that I'm not so good at Quidditch scenes. There's going to be another one coming up with Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If you have any suggestions on how I can make it better, then tell me, please. Please R/R!!

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	6. Chapter Six

::Midnight Lily::

(PG)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Six

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Amber joined up with her friends after the Quidditch game and they sat down under a tree by the lake. "Did you see me hit that Bludger?" Amber asked excitedly. "At first I didn't know what to do – but then I saw a brown blur coming pass me and I just hit it!" Charlie was telling them how she had beaten the life out of Bodds in the stands for speaking badly about her brother. "I completely pummelled him," she said heartily. "You saw him Katie, didn't you? He looked like a dried up old prune."

"You only gave him a black eye," Katie said bluntly. She caught Charlie's eye and continued, "Okay, and a couple of bruises and a broken neck and you crushed his ego." Charlie looked at her friends cheerfully.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Sabina bitting her lip. "You could have lost a lot of points from Gryffindor."

"You're such a killjoy, Sabina," Charlie said sulkily. "Bodds had it coming to him – he insulted my brother – no one messes with my family."

"No one but you," said Lily grinning. They all laughed. Someone tapped Lily on the shoulder and she turned around. It was James. Her smile fell from her face. "What do you want, Potter?" she asked furiously. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips. Katie and Amber followed.

"I need to talk to you," he said coolly. "Alone."

"Whatever you want to say to Lily, you'll have to say in front of us too," Katie said. "We're her friends."

"No," Lily said with a sigh. "It's alright." She walked off with James, leaving her friends in bewilderment. "Did you come up with a plan yet?"

James flushed and stuffed a piece of parchment into her hand. "Just read this over and tell me if it's good or not," he mumbled. "I spent some time writing it."

Lily raised an eyebrow but read it out loud anyway; "Through your eyes – I see the ocean, calm and gentle, it sparkles like a gem. Through your eyes – I see your soul, pure and wise, like the ocean you resemble." It was a poem. James had spent his spare time writing a poem about her – and the thing was – it wasn't bad either.

"So what do you think?" asked James tautly. "Is it – well, honest enough?"

"It's good," said Lily shortly. She didn't want to say that it was brilliant. "But what about it?"

"Well, I know you have Ancient Runes with Hufflepuff on Mondays," James explained. "I was thinking that maybe you could use a spell to split her bag – like when yours split after the Transfiguration test. Then you could pretend to drop this poem right in front of her. Make sure that she finds it. Then when she hands it back to you, maybe you can add in a few good words about me, you know – how I'm romantic or whatever." The very thought made Lily want to laugh.

"Good words? About you?" Lily asked sniggering. "What good words?"

"How I'm good at Quidditch or something," said James.

"Ailsa doesn't like Quidditch," Lily said coldly. "She doesn't know the difference between a Bludger and the Quaffle."

"Or, how I'm good at studying – like sometimes I help you?" James suggested.

"You? Help me?" asked Lily, as if the mere thought of it sent chills down her spine.

"How I'm nice to others," said James edgily.

Lily snorted. "Like when you performed the full body-binding curse on Church last week?" Lily asked. "Or how about when you sent Wade up to the hospital wing with tentacles shooting out of his body? Was that nice?"

"Don't mess with me, Evans," James said. "Just come up with something okay, we have a deal." James turned around and walked away huffily. Meanwhile, Lily folded up the piece of parchment into her pocket and made her way back to her friends. Nice words about James? It was like trying to duel against a mountain troll. No. Worst.

"What did James talk to you about?" Amber asked curiously.

"Nothing important," Lily said as she sat down beside Sabina. She racked through her brain, thinking of something good to come up with. "He thinks I confiscated the dungbombs that were on the table last night."

"Those were dungbombs?" Sabina asked, her face turning pale.

"Ya," Lily said with a grin. "Why?"

"I saw some first year boys crowding around them this morning," Sabina said softly. "I think that they thought it was chocolates."

"How thick can you get?" Charlie asked with disgust.

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It was the end of Ancient Runes and Lily told Sabina to leave without her. As she bent down, pretending to pack up her bag, Lily saw Ailsa talking with her friends near the front of the classroom. Bertha was with her and, by the looks of it, she was spilling a month's worth of gossip. Slowly Lily took out her wand and said the spell, "Diffindo!" The seams of Ailsa's bag broke apart and her quills and parchments fell onto the ground.

"Drats!" Ailsa said exasperatedly. "That's the third time today – you guys go ahead, I need to fix this." Bertha and a dark brown haired girl, Isabel Brown, walked out of the classroom, waving goodbye to Ailsa.

Lily straightened up and tucked her wand away. She closed her bag and looked out the classroom window. Then, pretending that she had spotted her friends, she walked straight pass Ailsa and dropped the piece of parchment that held the poem. Not waiting to see if Ailsa had picked it up, Lily ran down the corridor and made her way down the stairs to the Great Hall. Sabina was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "Sirius passed me a few minutes ago – I'm supposed to catch up with him in the Gryffindor common room tonight, after lessons."

"What does he want?" Lily asked Sabina as they made their way into the Great Hall.

"I don't know," Sabina replied. "But he seemed very upset." They sat down beside Katie, Amber and Charlie, who were already through second helpings. Lily's mind wandered to Ailsa and the poem that she had dropped. Had Ailsa read it already? What if she never returns the poem and kept it for herself? What if she hadn't noticed the poem drop and it was still in the classroom? Lily gulped at all the probabilities. She didn't like the thought of that poem going into the wrong hands.

"Lily," Charlie was saying. "Have you decided on who you're going to take to the Graduation ball?"

"What?" Lily asked distractedly, she had completely forgotten about that. "Um, no."

"No?!" Katie said with astonishment. "I'd thought you'd have someone by now."

"Well," Lily said slowly. "You haven't chosen anyone to go with, yet." Katie blushed and muttered something under her breath. Lily had a vague feeling that she had heard Sirius's name. "I know, you can go with, Brett Dolce."

"The Ravenclaw Captain?" Sabina asked stupidly.

"Yep," Lily said with a small smile. "Katie and Brett had a thing two years ago."

Katie snorted. "I'm way past that," she said. "Anyway, Brett's a sixth year, he isn't graduating this year." She carved vigorously at her cold turkey. "I guess I'll have to go with Peter – again." She gave a sigh as she saw him stubble and drop the pile of books he was carrying. "A pity that he isn't a good dancer, maybe I could teach him some moves before the ball –"

"You can't go with Peter," Amber cut in.

"Why not?" Katie asked.

"He's already going with someone," she said. The smallest smile crossed her lips. "I'm sure he and Bertha will make a good pairing." Lily, Charlie and Sabina snorted into their lunch.

Katie however sulked. "Great," Katie said sensitively. "Even half-brains have dates."

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Lily made her way up to the Gryffindor common room with Amber after classes. Amber had offered to stay with Lily after Transfiguration. This was because Lily had to ask Professor McGonagall about their final exams. "Thanks again, Amber," Lily said as they passed the statue of the one eyed hag.

"That's alright," Amber said. "I just wonder where Charlie and Katie have gone off to."

"I don't know," Lily replied. "I heard that they wanted to go to the Great Hall a bit earlier – extra helping or something."

Amber looked thoughtfully at a painting of two knights fighting against each other. "You know, Katie never gains a pound and she eats like a rhinoceros," Amber commented. "Me, I eat one slice of chocolate cake and I feel like a hippo the next day." Lily grinned.

They made their way up a flight of steps and turned into a well-lit corridor.

"But that's just it," Lily said plainly. "You 'feel' like a hippo, but you ask any of us and we'll still say you look beautiful."

Amber gave Lily a short smile. "Thanks."

They heard footsteps drawing closer to them from behind. Lily and Amber turned around swiftly to come face to face with Ailsa.

"Excuse me, Lily Evans," Ailsa said kindly. "You might not remember me, but I'm Ailsa Umbridge, we take Ancient Runes together."

"Yes," Lily said giving her a smile. "I know you."

"Um, you left this behind today and I wanted to give it back to you." Ailsa held out the folded parchment with the poem in it and Lily took it. "It's really beautiful – did you write it?"

"No," Lily replied. "James wrote it." She tried to ignore Amber's bemused gaze.

"James Potter?" Ailsa asked wistfully. "The egotistical seventh-grader who plays Seeker for Gryffindor?"

Lily tried to keep a straight face. "Yep, that one," Lily replied.

"He writes poetry?" Ailsa asked enquiringly. "That's sweet – is he your boyfriend or something?"

"Ya, um, you could say that," Lily said. She gave Amber a quick kick in case she interrupted but Amber was too disorientated to do so anyway. "He's alright once you come to it. He's a really talented Quidditch player."

"I'm not into Quidditch," Ailsa said curtly. "I think it's a load of nonsense." There was a short pause. "Anyway, Potter seems to know his poetry and from what you've been saying he seems like a real pleasant guy, guess the rumours about him was wrong – you're a lucky one, Lily. I'll see you later – at Ancient Runes, perhaps."

"Ya," Lily replied.

Once Ailsa turned the corner Amber turned to look at Lily. "James? Your boyfriend?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"That's because he's not my boyfriend," Lily scoffed and she launched into the story of how James had blackmailed her. She cut out one part that she thought was beyond explaining – her cheating. "So I had to pretend to drop this poem on the ground and let Ailsa find it." Lily gave Amber the parchment and Amber read it feverishly, her eyes bulging.

"Oh Lily," Amber said considerately. "Why didn't you tell us – or me at least?"

"It was just too embarrassing," Lily admitted. "I was just so furious at myself – plus Katie and Charlie would laugh."

"It could happen to anyone," Amber said. "James can be that inconsiderate." They continued walking. "So you're not going to do anything about it? You're not going to tell McGonagall? You're just going to let him control you?"

Lily looked at Amber. "I live up to a deal," she told Amber. "It'll be over before you know it."

"Katie and Charlie are going to find out soon enough," Amber reminded Lily. "If not them, Bertha, you really want to be seen with James?"

"What can I do?" Lily asked, releasing a deep sigh.

"Did he force you to write that poem too?" Amber asked.

"No," Lily said. "He really wrote it."

Amber's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that he spent his free time writing a poem about you?" Amber asked. "I doubt that he'd have any help from the Marauders – on the contrary, he must have had one heck of an inspiration."

Lily nodded. She wondered if that poem actually showed the real James Potter. Underneath his doublecrossing and blackmailing, maybe James was really like that. Through your eyes – I see the ocean, calm and gentle, it sparkles like a gem. Through your eyes – I see your soul, pure and wise, like the ocean you resemble. What if James really saw that through her eyes? Lily shook the thought out of her head. James saw all those things through Ailsa's eyes – after all, James had a crush on Ailsa.

"Lily," Amber said softly. "Are you alright?"

Lily looked at Amber. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't looked this way for a while," Amber said.

"What way?" Lily asked dazed. "Look like what?"

"You haven't looked this way since you had that crush on Snape back in our second year," Amber explained. "I recognize that look a lot – that's the look Katie gives Sirius every time she looks at him, it's the look James has when he looks at Ailsa, Lily?"

"What?" Lily asked, her face turned as red as her hair.

"Do you think – just maybe," Amber urged on. "You're in love with – "

"I'm not in love with anyone," said Lily stubbornly. "Let's just dump our bags in our dormitory and make our way down to the Great Hall."

"Okay," Amber said with a sigh. "'Draco titillandus.'" They walked through the portrait hole and climbed into the common room.

Shouting emerged from inside. Lily and Amber fastened their pace to see who it was. In the middle of the common room stood Sirius and kneeling down beside him was Sabina, her face was wet and a new flow of tears was trickling down her cheeks. James, Remus and Peter stood frantically at the side – as if wondering what to do.

Amber quickly ran to Sabina's side. "What happened, angel?" Amber asked in a soothing voice. She gently stroked Sabina's mattered red hair. Lily could barely hear what Sabina was saying.

"He broke up with me," she said amidst sobs. "I can't b-believe he broke up with me – I feel like my insides are completely g-gone." Amber looked up Sirius's mortified face with repulsion. Sabina looked like a lost girl who couldn't find her way home – it was dismal to watch. However, everybody stood still, just observing the scene, not knowing what to do. "W-where did I go wrong? Am I th-that horrible?"

Amber helped Sabina to her feet and Lily walked over to lend her a hand. "I know it may hurt badly, Sabina," Lily told her. "But you have to realise that this was going to happen sooner or later." Sabina didn't say anything. "Just keep crying." They led Sabina up the stairs and into their dormitory.

Sabina lay down in her bed and continued to sob.

"She'll be alright, won't she?" Lily asked Amber as they sat by the window of the dormitory. "I've never been through heartbreak before – I wouldn't know." She looked at Sabina who had gone very still, you could see her shoulders moving but apart from that, she was motionless.

"She'll be alright," Amber agreed. "First there'll be devastation and disbelief – then rejection, maybe rage – but then she'll be ready to lead her life again. Sabina is strong, and she'll handle each step." Amber caught Lily's eye and shook her head with a small smile. "She has us – it may not seem like much..." Amber's voice faded as she walked up to Sabina. She took a tissue and handed it to her. Sabina took it with a smile of thanks.

Lily looked out the window of her dormitory. The sun was setting across the horizon and the sky was painted blood red. "How can love be so painful and so wonderful at the same time?" Lily wondered out loud. "How could Sirius just break up with her?"

"Life's just like that I guess," Amber said shrugging.

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A/N: No, Sirius is not rotten; he just had to break up with Sabina. Sometimes when relationships don't work someone has to end it. As much as you want it to continue and as much as you want to ignore the fact that it'll soon be over – you have to face the fact. Please R/R!!

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	7. Chapter Seven

::Midnight Lily::

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Seven

The Christmas Holidays were drawing closer. Everyone was talking with anticipation about where they were going to go and what they were going to do. Even Wade, who had been biting his nails raw at the thought of the match against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, had decided to join the talk.

Almost everyone was deciding to go somewhere special. Charlotte and her two younger brothers kept going on about their trip to Australia on the Christmas Holidays. "It's going to be warm down there," Charlie kept telling Katie. "So while you guys are freezing your necks off, I'm going to go surfing and sun backing by the beach! Mum's booked us in a really good muggle resort."

The snow was starting to fall much more heavily then intended and the teachers began telling students off for playing in it. Lily and her friends were waiting with eagerness for the Hogsmeade weekend that was to come in a few days. After Sirius's break up with Sabina, Katie caved in and said that it was best if Sabina followed. Her attitude towards Sabina had certainly changed in the few short weeks before the holidays.

"You can't help but feel so sorry for her," Katie grunted, one cold afternoon. "She looks so lonely - it's sickening." Sabina was sitting in the closest armchair to the fire. Her face was down but you knew that she was crying. Her shoulders trembled every few minutes. "I don't know whether to be amused or sympathetic."

Amber gave Katie a look of warning.

"It would do her some good if she followed," Lily said. "She could use some butterbeer to warm her up."

"I can hear you, you know," Sabina said softly. "I'm sitting right here." She turned around and gave them a grim smile. Her cheeks were shining with tears and her eyes were red and puffy. "Thanks for everything though, I'm sorry to be a burden." She turned her head to watch Sirius laughing and talking with James. "How can he be so - so okay with it?"

Amber kept her back at Sirius. "Don't even look at him," Amber said. "Don't even let him see you look at him." Amber had been avoiding Sirius for the past few weeks. She seemed to think it was best that no girl should talk to him. "Let him just think that you're over him."

Sabina's eyes turned to Amber and she gave a sigh. "You're right," she said. "It's just - I don't know whether this pain will ever go away - it feels so overpowering." A new flow of tears began to make its way down her cheeks but she wiped them away furiously. "I hate myself so much, I had wasted so much time with him - I had wasted so much of my life and I totally hate it."

"It will be good when the weekends start," Katie told Sabina absent-mindedly.

"Ya," Sabina agreed. "It'll be good to just erase Sirius from our minds."

"No," Katie said stubbornly, her cheeks turning red. "I mean - we don't have any more work to do - I hate Professor McGonagall's lectures." She scrunched her face up to make it all stern and grave. "You need to be prepared for your N.E.W.T.s! They're coming up soon and you'll need to study every day - instead of all of you dilly-dallying all the time!! Potter! Black! Put that 'thing' away this instant!"

James and Sirius jumped from the corner they were sitting in and when they realized it was Katie they laughed at her imitation. Lily, however, looked at Katie austerely but didn't say anything. It wasn't her business to spoil everyone else's holidays. Lily herself was hopeful to spend a good holiday – even though it had to be at Hogwarts. James seemed to have loosened his attitude towards her. Probably because she had been willing to stay back and help him gain Ailsa's love.

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James stopped at a door by a statue of an angel. Lily had just been walking around with her friends when he had hauled her away. "What are you doing? You're going to get us caught?" Lily hissed at him. But he didn't answer. He took out his wand and looked left and right before tapping the doorknob with his wand. "Angel Stars," James whispered at the knob. At first it didn't do anything.

Then slowly, very slowly, it turned. The door swung open to admit an empty room. "Get in," James whispered.

But Lily stayed frozen. "I'm not going in there," Lily said stubbornly. "I don't even know 'where' that is."

James sighed. "It's just a room where we can't be disturbed, alright?" He said quickly. "Stop being such a pansy and get in." Lily gave James a skeptical look but she walked in nonetheless. James followed after her. He closed the door by tapping it with his wand again. The room was made of solid grey stone. At the centre was an average sized fountain of an angel with a child at her hip. The water that flowed out of the angel's hands was crystal clear.

"What did you want me for, Potter?" Lily asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Did Ailsa find my poem?" James asked in a business-like tone of voice.

"Yes," Lily replied shortly.

"What did she think of it?"

Lily shrugged. "She said it was okay," Lily replied. "Better then most boys' poems that is."

James was practically beaming. "And, um, what did she think of me?" James asked, his cheeks heating up.

"Before or after she read the poem?" Lily asked coldly in reply.

"Both," James said eagerly.

"Before she thought you were egotistical," Lily said. "Afterwards, I don't know, she thinks you're alright." There was a long pause at which Lily walked up to the fountain and reached out to touch the water. James grabbed her hand an inch from her touching it.

"Don't," James said firmly.

"Why not?" Lily asked. "What is that?" She bent over, expecting to see her reflection, but it didn't show. The surface was a clear metallic paint.

"Be careful," James said. "Last year Peter burnt his finger from that water - we don't know what it is, but it looks very unearthly." He looked up at the angel inquiringly. "I don't know what this room is but I know that it was placed here for good reason – it must have."

Lily bent down and looked at a silver plaque that was placed on the wall of the fountain. "In memory of Marilyn H. Stimpson," she read. "May angels watch over the young." She hastily stepped back from the fountain. "I think this is a grave, Potter."

"You don't say," James said, looking at the angel with a lot more interest. "Remus thought it was one too - he thinks that the girl was buried beneath the fountain." At this, James bent down and tried to find a gap between the fountain and the floor. Lily looked at him in horror.

"This place gives me the creeps," Lily muttered under her breath. "Can't we just leave?"

"No," James said sternly. "I want to examine this a little more." He ran his hand through his hair and then stood up to look at the water. "Maybe you have to throw the water onto the angel or something - wait, maybe onto the little girl - Marilyn Stimpson."

A cold wind blew behind her and she jumped. "Potter!" Lily said shrilly. "I don't like this at all!"

"Wait!" James said back to her. "We've been here a thousand times and nothing has ever happened." James looked at the angel and then back at the water. "May angels watch over the young - we're not young."

"And I'm getting older right here," Lily said caustically. She stamped her foot on the stone ground. Then, without thinking, she walked up to the fountain, cupped some water in her hands and flung it at James. He threw his hands up in protection and braced himself for the pain - but nothing happened.

"Why didn't it hurt?" James asked, looking at his arms wildly. "Last year -"

"Who cares about last year," Lily said desperately. "Can we please leave?"

James ignored her; instead, he ran his fingers across the water. Ripples cascaded across the metallic surface and sparkled in the dim light of the room. James looked down, hoping to see his reflection, but instead he saw a baby, resting quietly.

"Lily, look," he said softly. Lily walked up beside him and bent down. The reflection of the infant grew clearer until it seemed as if a child was actually resting at the bottom of the pool. It turned to its side slightly and they saw a lightning bolt scar, just visible, on his forehead.

"Poor thing," Lily muttered. "It looks so lonely." Slowly the image vanished until it was gone. "What was that? Who was that?"

"I don't know," James said softly. He turned around. "Let's just go back." And they turned to leave.

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Lily and her friends made their way to the Three Broomsticks the next day against a tormenting snowfall. Inside the pub, it was warm and toasty, and groups of Hogwarts students were already packed around tables, talking excitedly about the Christmas Holidays. Charlie left the group to order the butterbeers and Lily, Amber, Katie and Sabina went to search for a table to sit at.

The only one that was not occupied was at a corner between two other tables. One of the two tables was in use by some shifty looking goblins and the other was taken by none other than the Marauders themselves.

"You think we could just sit out in the snow or something?" Sabina asked bitterly. She watched Sirius gulping up his butterbeer by the mouthful.

Amber gave a sigh. "No," she said. "Let's just sit down."

They made their way to the table and sat down. Charlie returned soon after with five mugs filled to the brim with warm butterbeer. "The drinks are on me," she said with a small grin.

"Why?" Lily asked curiously.

"Lost the game of exploding snaps," Charlie said disappointedly. "Knew I couldn't have won so many times in a row." They all laughed. "Hey, what's up Sabina's head?"

Sabina was staring at Sirius with a look of displeasure. On his lap was a blonde fifth year who was flirting with him extravagantly.

"He's such a cheat like the rest of them!" Charlie snarled. "Like Potter and Pettigrew – maybe not Lupin – but just like the other two horrible scoundrels!"

Lily looked at Sirius and couldn't believe that he was okay with it. How could he just move from one relationship to another? It was as if he wasn't serious about love at all. As if it were a game he could just mess around with. Almost instantly her eyes turned to James and she saw that he was staring at her too. "Hey guys," Lily said suddenly. "I'm going to go outside and stretch my legs – okay? It's so stuffy here." She stood up and left.

On the other table James saw Lily leave and he placed down his mug of butterbeer thoughtfully. "I completely forgot," he told his friends. "I hadn't paid for my acid pops."

"All the better!" Sirius said with a grin. "You saved up a handful of sickles!"

"No," James said shaking his head. "I better go and pay for them." He stood up and left. Leaving the Marauders in bewilderment. James opened the door of the Three Broomsticks and found Lily leaning on the wall outside. It was as if she understood him completely. "Morning, Evans."

"Hi there, Potter," she said optimistically. She nudged her head towards the open, snow-covered streets. "Want to go for a walk?"

"Why not," replied James with a sigh. "Better then seeing Sirius flirting with that scatterbrain fifth year." They made their way through the snow in a direct path for the Shrieking Shack. They didn't speak to each other at all on the way there. Everything stood peacefully in a way and snowflakes began to fall gently.

James kept his eyes towards his feet. It felt awkward walking peacefully with Lily instead of arguing with her. He turned to look at her while she was observing a group of adult wizards bargaining on the prices of the owl deliveries. He wondered how he could have been so stupid to fall in love with her. Why had her dark copper hair faze him so? Why had he always been lost in her sparkling emerald eyes? The flame was out now. He didn't care for her any more. All he wanted to care about was Ailsa.

Sure, she wasn't as beautiful as Lily or as smart. But she must really be a kind person at heart. James thought of Ailsa as someone he could marry and be happy with. But when he stared at Lily, he could only picture them arguing over their wedding preparations and the names of their children. He would live in misery because he knew that she didn't love him back. James looked back down at his feet in desolation.

Lily looked up at James and saw that he was staring at his feet in deep thought. She wondered what he was thinking about. Probably stupid Ailsa. That's what a guy like him would only think about twenty-four seven. Lily watched as he ran his hand through his jet black hair. For a split second she found the action admiring but she brushed it away. It was silly. Why would you want to look a complete mess?

If Lily ever wanted to marry anyone, she knew that she'd marry someone with a good future ahead of him. Someone who was proper and not always dilly-dallying like James. But she also wanted someone who would love her for who she truly was. She hated people just thinking about how beautiful she was or how clever she was. Lily wanted to marry someone who appreciated her inner self. If they didn't then there was no point in continuing that relationship.

"Evans," James said unexpectedly. "Why do you hate me so much? I mean, we could be friends, you know."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "I don't hate you," she answered softly. "It's my friends – they hate you."

"And you do everything they tell you to?" James asked. "If I followed every stinking plan Sirius made then I wouldn't be here right now."

Lily stared at him. "Sometimes I wish I were like you," she replied. "You're so – unbound."

"Me?" James asked, trying to keep his face straight. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are," Lily pressed on. "You can break any rule you want due to your own consent and if you feel like shouting at Professor McGonagall then you do it! Sometimes it makes me feel so structured."

"Then why don't you?" James asked.

"Don't I what?" Lily brushed away the snow on her dark red hair. It seemed to twinkle between her locks like pearls.

"Why don't you go shout at Professor McGonagall?" James asked. They reached the Shrieking Shack and came to a halt. James sat down on a log by the clearing and Lily sat down beside him.

"It's not me," Lily said with a sigh.

"It could be you," James suggested. "If you want."

Lily gave a grin. "If I decided to shout at a teacher, and I do it," Lily answered. "Then I'll have you to thank for." They gave a short laugh together. "I think you and Ailsa would make a great pair. It definitely couldn't have worked out between us. You'll just have to invite me to your wedding."

"Only if you invite me to yours," James pointed out.

"But you have to come," Lily said. "It's useless if I invite you and you don't come."

"I will," James promised.

"I already know what it's going to look like," Lily remarked dreamy eyed. "I've already pictured how my wedding is going to be like."

"Okay," James said slowly. "How?" Lily gave him a 'don't go there' stare but James disregarded it. "No, really, I want to know. I won't laugh."

There was a short pause where Lily looked out into the snowy white horizon. He was never going to see the dream wedding anyway, Lily thought. I might as well tell him what it'd be like.

"I want a pearl white gown – not crème or slightly blue – just completely pure white," Lily explained to him. "And my bouquet of flowers, I want it consisting of only lilies; every type of lilies of every single colour. Then I want to be married in a church by the sea." She looked down at her pale hands. "I love the sea – the ocean." She stood up and looked at the Shrieking Shack. "But it won't happen."

"It will," James replied firmly. "If you want it to – that is." He stood up and brushed the snow off his knees. "The ocean – it's a perfect idea. You suit the ocean. After all, your eyes resemble it."

Lily turned to look at James in astonishment and she saw him smiling at her.

A/N: Did you like that chapter? Please continue to R/R! By the way, Zayne, I found the name Sabina in a book of Baby Names. It's a really useful book for authors when they can't find a good name for the character. It comes from the Latin meaning 'from the Sabine Region' and it has been used as a personal name in Britain for 300 years. That's why I thought that I'd be a good name for such a character. I also found the name Ailsa from there too.


	8. Chapter Eight

::Midnight Lily::

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Eight

Lily and James made their way back to the Hogwarts grounds by themselves. They completely overlooked the fact that their friends were still waiting for them in the Three Broomsticks. They just wanted to enjoy each others company – for once. Lily didn't know why it seemed to relax her when she was around him all of a sudden. He just made her laugh, that's all. James felt entranced by how free-spirited Lily could become.

Most of the things they talked about were stupid stuff. Like Lily's unease to be a self-starter or how Bertha and Peter would make a funny looking couple. But once in a while they'd come to serious grounds.

"Since when did you have a crush on me?" Lily asked James inquiringly as the lake came into view.

"What?" James asked with a small smile.

"Come on," Lily laughed. "When? I'm curious, tell me." She turned around and walked backwards, looking at James with an effortless grin. Her red hair flew behind her like her head was on fire. But no one would have wanted to extinguish it.

"About, second year," James admitted. "Near the end of it, that is."

"So long?!" Lily asked with a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Yes," James answered, shaking his head. "I'm pathetic."

"No," Lily protested. She stopped walking and looked at the lake with a solicitous look on her face. "Can I tell you a secret?"

James caught up with Lily and looked at her as if she were kidding him. "Sure."

"Katie's had this crush on Sirius since first year," Lily told him. "So you're not alone."

It wasn't what he'd expected and it didn't come to him as a surprise either. "I already know that," James said irately. He took a couple of breaths and tried to cool down his growing temper. What had he hoped for her to say? That she had had a crush on him since the first year? That was a will-o'-the-wisp. It could never happen.

"Oh?" Lily asked startled. She turned her head to look at James.

"It's so obvious," James said, forcing a grin onto his face.

"I guess," Lily said with a shrug. "But think about this, Sirius just broke up with Sabina – for Katie it's hard to be kindly when she just has this opportunity open to her." James looked back at the castle but then turned around to face the lake hastily. "What is it? What's wrong?" She tried to turn and look but James forced her to keep her back on the castle door.

"It's Ailsa," James said through gritted teeth. "And I look like I've just came out of a grater."

Lily snorted. "You always look like you've come out of a grater," she remarked. "What do you want to do? Just stand here?" She took a quick peek and saw that Ailsa, copper brown hair flying, was making her way across the grounds hurriedly. By the expression on her face, Lily could tell that she was miserably upset. Ailsa sat down under a tree a few spaces away from them and hugged her knees close to her chest. "Oh, she looks so distressed."

James glanced down at his feet with a soft look on his face. "Should I go and comfort her or something?" he asked uncomfortably. "Maybe I should escort her back to the castle?"

"She wouldn't want any help from you," Lily said severely. "You have a girlfriend – the last thing she'd want to know is that you're cheating on me – with her." Lily sat down onto the cold snow and James followed. "I don't think we can do much for her."

"But there must be something," James replied edgily. "I can't pass up this opportunity – maybe I can curse you."

"Don't even dare," Lily said shrilly.

"It was only a thought," James said smiling a little. He took another vague look towards Ailsa. "I know – I can show her more of how romantic I can be." Offhandedly, he moved closer to Lily and leaned towards her with his right hand. Lily could feel her heart's pace quickening. "Don't worry; I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"You just did," Lily said protectively. She could feel her cheeks burning up despite the cold. She kept her eyes averted from Ailsa and she wished that James would too. "You want to make it seem as if you're more interested in her then me?"

James hurriedly looked away. "She's just so amazing, even when she's troubled," James stated. He shook himself out of his trance. "What do I do?"

"I don't know," Lily said. "You've picked the wrong person to blackmail; I've never been in love."

But James ignored this. "Shoot!" He cursed. Lily turned around and saw that Ailsa was standing up and taking small steps towards the castle. "She's going back! We have to distract her." He raked through his brain, thinking of any distraction he could use. He turned to Lily, closed his eyes and without thinking leaned even closer forwards.

When he first leant forwards, he didn't know what he was doing or whether he wanted to do it. But once he did, he completely lost himself. James himself had kissed a number of girls. But Lily was different. She had never been kissed in her life. Not a true kiss that is, not one on the lips and not one that lasted six seconds. She was new to it and that's what made James feel atypical, fresh.

The feeling that overtook Lily was enticing. She'd never felt anything like it.

When they released Lily and James went into a traumatic silence. They didn't know what to say to each other. James knew it was like any other ordinary kiss. But then why was his head spinning and his heart flying to the stars? He tried to fight off the feeling. He didn't want to be falling for Lily again. Not now.

Lily looked instantly at her hands. They were numb. It might have been because of the snow beneath her fingers but then again she had never felt so revered by James. For a second she realized Katie's thoughts of Sirius, Amber's thoughts of Wade, her thought's of James.

James turned and saw that Ailsa was walking away. She hadn't notice! He looked back at Lily and realized that he didn't care. But he must care! He had to care. Lily wasn't the one he had a crush on – Ailsa was!

"Was that real?" Lily asked faintly.

"No," James answered, trying to revert his feelings to Ailsa. He would deny that he had feelings for her. "It was an act for Ailsa to notice me and she didn't." He stood up and gave Lily a hand. "Go find your friends, Evans. I need to think of another plan." He walked back into the castle, leaving Lily with her worries and half her heart missing.

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The new term opened up in a great furore. Every one of the seventh years was enticed in studying and preparing for the end-of-year exams. Lily was especially edgy whenever anyone came and bothered her in the seventh-year girl's dormitory.

Another matter entirely came a few weeks after the term began. It sent all the Gryffindors and Slytherins in upheaval against each other and placed a heavy burden on Wade's shoulders.

The Quidditch Match; Slytherin vs. Gryffindor.

The points currently stood at a summit of which Gryffindor had two hundred and fifty points; Slytherin had four hundred and ten points; Ravenclaw had three hundred and ten and Hufflepuff had two hundred and eighty. The gap between Slytherin and Gryffindor was large. All the favors were leaning towards Slytherin but, as it was Wade's last chance in winning the cup, the competitive spirit between the two houses were mutinous.

So far the injuries from the Gryffindor team stood by; Amber sent to the hospital with a broken ankle, Wade was sent up with a broken nose, Martha Tilford was there for two days with an inflated head, Jamie Stuart suffered for a week with warts the size of cookies bubbling all over his body, and two second-year girls received two weeks in the wing after receiving a bad case of the Boogie Curse.

But the Gryffindors did strike back by; sending the captain, Mortimer, to the hospital with his legs tied in a knot, Keeper Alex Anderson with his hair growing an inch per minute, and Blake Kimmons, a sixth-year chaser, with an Aging Curse.

But all of them were prepared for the match ahead of them. De-inflated, wartless, Boogie ridden, and several years younger, both Slytherin and Gryffindor were hot on their heels and prepared to fight for their lives.

James didn't even have a chance to think about how to impress Ailsa through all the hard training he was being put through and Lily was too strained with studying to even care. Every time they bumped into each other in a corridor all they did was exchange glances. They couldn't think about the feelings they suddenly had for each other. Even if they did, it wouldn't make much of a difference, they couldn't express it.

Lily tried her best to wipe away the memory of that afternoon. But it was like a coffee stain on her shirt. It couldn't be removed. She could scratch and rub on it as hard as she wanted and it would stay the way that it was. Bitter, tempting and confusing.

Katie and Amber pressured Lily to think about a partner for the Graduation Ball, as many of the adequate seventh-year boys were already being taken, but Lily couldn't think of anyone she'd want to go with. Once or twice her mind moved over James but then she'd hastily push it away. He was going to be going with Ailsa and that was final.

Amber was obviously going with her boyfriend Wade. Who had seemed to have completely ignored his girlfriend through all the Quidditch practices taking place. Amber was working just as hard to be the best beater she could but it was overwhelming.

Katie didn't have anyone to go with yet. Sometimes she'd look forlornly at Sirius and other times she'd be completely ignoring him. It was hard to understand whether she still wanted to be with him or not.

Sabina, however, had decided to go with a Hufflepuff boy named Thom. They met a week after the holidays and decided that they would just keep each other company. Lily, Amber and Katie could see that she didn't love Thom but they knew that it was good for her to just have a friend. It didn't matter if it was serious or not. But at least Sabina was moving on.

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"Lily, are you coming to the match?" Katie asked. It was the morning before the Final Quidditch Match began. "We're going to be late for the start up."

"I'm not going," Lily groaned. She sat at a table in the Gryffindor common room. Books were piled sky-high and rolls of parchment were everywhere. Lily sat in the middle of it all, bags under her eyes and her hair tangled and drooped. Her friends stood beside her and looked at Lily with worry.

"But Amber is going to be there," Sabina griped. "And Thom wants to meet you – I told him that you're coming."

"I'm not going," Lily repeated. "I still haven't finished revising my Charm notes; I need to finish that by today, so you guys just go ahead without me, please." She picked up a heavy-looking book and dropped it in front of her with a loud bang.

"This studying is going to your head!" Charlie said, goggling at the books in amazement. "You shouldn't be that concerned, Professor McGonagall expects you to have full marks in all of them anyway."

"I need to do this," Lily said through gritted teeth. "I have a responsibility on my shoulders." She tried to ignore the words that ran through her mind. The words that James told her on the Hogsmeade weekend. "Just go before I put a curse on you."

"You're turning out like Potter," Katie said under her breath. But they left anyway, leaving Lily to her work and washing the common room into dead silence.

Lily waited for the sound of their footsteps to finally disappear before packing up the books she had on the table and sitting down next to the fireplace. She didn't want to go at the Quidditch match just because she had a lot of studying to do. It was because of James. She couldn't look at him without feeling disheartened. What was she hoping for? For him to suddenly love her? No. The kiss was a stunt for Ailsa only.

Lily honestly didn't know what to think of James. Most of the times he was predictable – arrogant, bigheaded ... daft, but then sometimes he did things that were so unpredictable, it made Lily feel stupid herself. Like kissing her.

Why couldn't she remove it from her head? That was just a stunt for Ailsa. But the way it felt. She'd never had someone kiss her before. It made her feel secure and loved. For the first time she felt truly loved. Before that she didn't know why 'Midnight Lily' wanted to kiss Matt – what she felt for Matt. But then Lily realized that it was all for love. Take a chance. But Lily knew that James didn't feel the same way Matt felt for the Lily in the story. James had denied everything.

Lily played with her red hair for a while. Out of all the seventh year boys she had to fall in love with it had to be James. The one boy who wouldn't take her, love her. James was already taken by Ailsa.

"Matt and Lily go out to the front and sit down on a side bench, watching the lights inside. It was close to midnight, and Lily was soon to turn into a pumpkin, everything in her life was soon to be gone. There the two were, holding each other; Lily so much wanted to kiss Matt. So she does, slowly and passionately, and then midnight strikes. But nothing happened – the kiss had freed Lily from becoming a pumpkin, and she knew that she was with the one she loved most of all at that moment."

No. This time there was to be no happy ending. Lily was going to turn into a pumpkin and that was the end of that. Midnight Lily was just a tale. It wouldn't end the way she wished it to. Lily would never have the true kiss she wanted. Lily would never have the dream wedding she wanted. Lily was to never live happy ever after.

A/N: I'm sorry that Lily didn't go to the Final Quidditch Match. You'll have to find out the results in the next chapter! But how was this chapter? Was it alright? I know that it was kind of short. I didn't feel like embarrassing myself by writing down an inaccurate turn of events for the last Quidditch match. I'm not good at describing sports. LOL. Please R/R.


	9. Chapter Nine

::Midnight Lily::

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Nine

It was funny how time seemed to past so quickly towards the end-of-year exams. Lily seemed to have to grit her teeth through the nauseating ride. Before she knew it, it was a week till the exams, and every one of the seventh years were in utter furore. Not only about the exams – but also on the Graduation Ball. It sounded as if everyone had gained a date for the spectacular event. Everyone that is except Lily and James. The ones everyone thought would have a date first were left with nothing.

Lily wasn't bothered. She'd just have to go alone, that's all. I mean, was a date really that important? It wasn't like choosing a husband/wife. This was an optional thing, not the person you'd spend the rest of your life with.

Five days before the exams (Saturday), everyone in the Gryffindor was kept in to study. But not everyone did. Charlie, for example, had a copy of the Daily Prophet propped up against her Transfiguration textbook and was solving the crosswords and puzzles located on page twenty-eight. The Marauders (okay, only Sirius and James) were lazily playing wizardry chess by the fire.

"Completely pathetic," Sabina muttered into Lily's ear as she watched Sirius take James's pawn. "As if the two of them don't have anything better to do, a.k.a. studying." She had her Charms textbook lying wide-open on her lap. Her wand was out and she was practicing the spells on a fat, dead fly she had found on the table.

Lily gave a sigh. "It's their loss," she replied. "Potter has completely lost it – ever since Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup that is."

"You should have been there," Katie hissed from beside Wade. "Amber was so fantastic! You should have seen her incredible hit! The whole crowd went wild – and Professor Stebbins fell six flights down the benches!!"

Amber's face went beet red. "He fell two flights down – not six," she answered. "And I wasn't fantastic at all."

"No," Wade agreed, placing an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "She was beyond fantastic!"

Katie and Sabina took a quick glance at Amber's already red face and sniggered. Lily looked down at the notes she was revising then took another spare roll of parchment and began writing. "What is it?" Katie asked trying to peer at Lily's parchment.

"Just a letter – I completely forgot," Lily muttered back. Lily quickly folded the paper and slipped it into an empty envelope.

"For who?" Katie asked.

"My parents," Lily said sharply. "They wanted to know when my exams were going to be held." She stood up and walked out of the common room. The corridor outside was quiet, and for obvious reasons, Lily took a path to the owlery. She wasn't faking about the letter at all – if that's what you're thinking. She really had to send a letter to her parents. She just didn't like talking about them with her friends.

Her family had always been a secret from her friends. She didn't want them to know about how torn up she was from them. Lily had loving parents; they cared for her, which was good. But then there was her sister Petunia. It was hard to say whether they had a sisterly bond at all. Often when Lily went home for the summer she would barely talk to her sister. Sometimes she'd try to make conversation with her – but to no avail. Petunia had made it certain that she had no sister.

Lily turned left and continued through the corridors. Her footsteps were the only sound she could hear.

Lily used to be so strong with Petunia when they were ten. They'd always have loads of fun talking about going to college together and pursuing their careers hand-in-hand. Then they also wanted to raise their families close together and live on the same street with each other.

Lily wanted a small boy with brave heart, she didn't care if he was skinny and weak-looking, but he had to have a loyal soul. Petunia, on the other hand, wanted a fat and beefy boy who would bring her glory when he was older and work for some rich company. Their opposites of a son would be playmates when young and best friends when older.

But that was not to be, Lily knew that now. Petunia and she were different in every way possible. When Lily became a witch she had lost her sister's trust. She doubts that Petunia and she would even go to each other's weddings or funerals ...

Lily was too busy within thoughts that she walked straight through something iced cold. A ghost. She shrieked out in astonishment and turned around to see who she had walked through.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Evans." It was Genteel Grace. A young woman ghost in her late twenties; she wore an elegant dress that swept down her feet and curls that were pinned elegantly to the top of her crown. She gave Lily a magnificent curtsy. "It was so foolish of me; I hadn't known you were there – I was just so preoccupied."

"It's okay," Lily replied, her brain rattling a little. She hugged her shoulders until the ice-cold feeling faded. "I was a bit careless myself."

"Oh no!" Genteel Grace exclaimed. "Never! Such a fine lady as you should be poised and polished for ever and a day."

"Oh," Lily answered, not knowing what to say. "Alright." She clutched the letter in her hand nervously. She had never been alright with ghosts. It had always sent this unearthly chill down her spine, that they shouldn't really be there but they are. "May I ask what you were preoccupied with?"

"I'm parting from this fair and gracious castle," Genteel Grace said with a polite smile. "I've found an exquisite home somewhere close to Devon – my Mother stays there and I wish to join her. It has been a fine job to be in service to such a magnificent estate, but sadly I wish to take care of a few mishaps in my life."

"Good for you," Lily said.

"Thank you, Ms. Evans," Genteel Grace nodded. With a regal flourish of her gown, she flew through the wall between two paintings of an elf and a flower. "It was nice talking to such a diligent student as yourself – unlike the man who walked past me a few seconds ago."

Lily stood frozen in bewilderment. Was it who she thought it was? But she shook the thought out of her mind. Instead she made her way to the owlery. She had delayed her time enough. Genteel Grace, rumor has it, had died when her lover had stabbed her when she was asleep. Lily couldn't imagine who would do that to a person he/she loved. But then again, the person could have faked it all. How could anyone fake love? But then there were a lot of people who moved from relationships to another – just to be noticed as someone who was loved by many. And then again, not a lover themselves.

Lily made her way up the stair to the owlery and tied her letter onto her own owl, a tawny brown owl she had named Herve. He was always eager to send letters for her but would have liked it even more to just stay where he was today. "Herve, please! Just this one letter to London," Lily begged. At the sound of the destination his eyes swiveled and he took a few totter steps away from her. "Please! I beg you! I need to send this letter to Mum and Dad."

It took a couple more tries before Herve finally caved in. Lily watched her owl fly off into the grey sky before descending down the stairs. On the way down she revised the notes she had written on Comparable Species Charms. She wanted to do it right this time. She didn't want to cheat. On the fourth time she repeated it Lily was completely satisfied. She made her way back to the Gryffindor common room in a cheerful mood.

On a final turn she bumped into someone (preoccupied as she was again.) It was James. Her mood took a swift descend.

"Hi there, Potter," Lily said shortly.

"Hello," James replied just as awkwardly. "Where did you go just then?"

"Owlery – none of your business really, though, Potter," Lily answered. She folded her arms in front of her chest trying to keep her feelings to herself. He wasn't what she wanted. He wasn't anybody at all. "Where are you off to?"

"Nowhere," James shrugged. "Just finished the game of wizardry chess – I won of course, and I was just thinking of strolling about."

"How about your exams?" Lily asked testily.

"Finished them all off last week," James said simply. Lily remembered that James hadn't done any studying at all last week. He was lying. He just wanted to get off easy so she could pass him by. "Surprised you're brain isn't rocketing off though."

"I like to be precise, unlike you," Lily replied, raising her nose in the air. "Doesn't matter if I die trying." She realized how stupid that sound and curse herself. James must have thought the same thing because he snorted. Lily couldn't help but break in a smile. "That didn't turn out how I wanted it to."

"I wouldn't have guessed," James said sarcastically. His right hand brushed against Lily's left and she felt her heart volt into the air.

"I better go – study some more," mumbled Lily faintly. She looked behind her then looked back.

"More?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. "You really do want to die." They both laughed together. Why was he doing this? James asked to himself. Why was he talking to Lily in this friendly way? It was as if he was trying to flirt with her – no that couldn't be right. "J-just go off – I want to just think by myself." He had taken the hard way.

"No," Lily said suddenly. "It doesn't matter. I don't feel much like studying really – I think I know enough." Why had she said that? Lily asked herself. It was that driven pressure she had felt when her friends joked at her routines. Now she didn't feel like studying at all. In fact, she just felt like talking to James.

"You can never know enough," James answered. "So what do you want to do?"

"Where are you going?" Lily asked curiously.

"About, walking through the corridors, pulling pranks at the paintings – the usual," James said casually.

"Then I'll do that," Lily said with a grin.

"Okay," James said slowly. "But I have to warn you, some of the paintings are real grumps, tattle-tales too."

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"Who's that?" Lily asked. She pointed to a midget wizard who was trying to serenade a tall beautiful woman in one of the paintings. "He looks like a great big oaf." They had gone through a few corridors, terrorizing the painting in the castle. "Look! The woman's walloped him in the head with her parasol!"

James and Lily laughed at the height-challenged wizard together.

"One time I hid below his painting and surprised him," James told Lily. "He had the biggest shock of his life – almost peed his pants." It was amazing how enjoyable it was to be in the company of James. The awkwardness of their kiss was completely wiped from her mind. It was back to being alright friends again.

"You were disappointed, weren't you?" Lily said out-of-the-blue. Why was she doing that? Why was she turning the conversation to them again? It's like she couldn't let go of it.

"Disappointed with what?" James asked.

"When we couldn't be together," Lily muttered into his ear. She didn't like this private conversation to linger into the paintings' ears.

"A little," James answered. "Not really disappointed, more heartbroken."

"That's practically the same thing," Lily said logically.

"No it isn't," James dissented. "Disappointed is when you failed to do what was expected; Heartbroken is – when you have a broken heart." James froze in his spot. "They're two completely different things."

"I've never been heartbroken," Lily said suddenly. "Sometimes I wonder how it feels."

"It's worst then daggers piercing into your body, because those can mend and you won't remember much about it," James explained. "But when you have a broken heart, it's your dignity and love that was hurt and you'll remember it for the rest of your life – sometimes it can never heal."

"I'm so sorry," Lily replied.

"No you're not," James said abruptly. "You just say you do, but I know you don't feel sorry for me at all. Just sympathetic. But I don't need your sympathy."

"No, I really do feel sorry, I should have thought first," Lily pressured on.

"You don't care for anyone but yourself," James replied haughtily. "And after all you've been through, it's expected."

"What?" Lily asked sharply. "All I've been through?"

"I know about how your friends always tell you what to do, you're parents tell you what to do – you should care for yourself," James answered.

"You don't know anything about me," Lily said stubbornly. "How could you know – I never told anyone."

"I can just tell," James said. He leaned against the wall behind him and gave Lily a grim smile.

"How?" Lily asked inquiringly.

"When we had kissed," James retorted barely. "The way it felt; you were insecure."

"Insecure?" asked Lily. "Of course I was – you can't just force your face into mine! I didn't even like it! That was completely inconsiderate. The last thing I needed was a kiss from you!" She walked a few steps closer to him, but then thought against it and turned, her back facing him.

"Just like that," he said idly, inside his stomach dropped a little. She hadn't liked it? Of course! Neither did he. "The way you just hide everything, you don't want to be hurt, you want your life to be perfect – well no one's life can be perfect."

"I'm just a perfectionist then," Lily said curtly.

"No," James answered. "You just want to make your friends and family proud. You don't seem to care about what you want."

"How would you know about what I want?" Lily asked him.

"That's just it," James replied. "You don't want anything; you just wish for it and yet never hope for it to happen." He looked outside the closest window and saw Ailsa talking with her friends. "Like how I want Ailsa to be my date – yet somehow I feel that I'll be going alone. It's the feeling of wanting and yearning yet never hoping."

"That's not true."

"Then what do you want?"

Lily didn't answer him. She was afraid to answer him. She couldn't tell him something so personal. Of course she wanted to scream out exactly what she wanted. But that would reveal everything and nothing at the same time. Lily wanted him. But she couldn't have him could she? He wasn't something anyone could just claim. "I'm not telling just anybody."

"I'm not anybody."

"I'm not telling you," Lily said firmly.

A/N: Was that chapter alright? It might have been a little boring. It was just a stepping stone for the next chapter. The next one will be a lot more interesting.


	10. Chapter Ten

::Midnight Lily::

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Ten

Review for Chapter Eight: (I was in a rush at the time and 4got)

CountessMel: What would a romance/drama fanfic be, without over-the-top drama? Plus I had to write that small part about the wedding and the ocean – mainly the wedding. There are two reasons for that; number one, it saves up for a whole lot of mushiness in the other chapters by squeezing it all in one, number two, the wedding is linked with something coming up – can't tell till later and it's not what you think. lol

Annmarie Aspasia: The ocean is, in fact, a clear transparent colour. It may look either green or blue due to the reflection of objects around it. Sorry if I'm going all 'sciency' (okay, not a word!) here, but it's really quite simple to understand. See, the ocean may look blue to you, probably because the sky above it is blue, and that colour is reflected off the ocean surface. But other times it might look green because of the seabed beneath it. It depends on the types of surroundings your in. But then again, I've noticed that most of my reviewers are from atop the northern hemisphere and I'm down in the southern hemisphere. Is there a possibility that the ocean here is green and the ocean, up where you guys are, is blue?

IcyCrystal: I don't really have the time to read fanfics lately, because of all this studying that's going on. But if I have a chance I'll see to it that I'll check it out. By the way, with the ocean thing, you have to just see it from a perspective. I mean, when you really look into someone's eyes (someone that you really like that is!) you just don't see an obvious solid colour (like emerald). What you really see is a whole lot of intermixing colours – ones that others don't really see. For instance, James doesn't just see emerald, he might see darker shades or lighter shades in her eyes (like the rippling of waves) and then there might be tints of sapphire buried beneath it all. To the answer of oceans being blue or green, just look at the reply to the review above. Thanx 4 reading my fanfic!

That was it. The final exams were over. Everyone was ecstatic. Everyone was overjoyed – especially the seventh years. Some people were apprehensive, reassured, contented, and then there were those who dreaded their results, but everyone was glad that it was all over. "Lily! Hi!" It was Ailsa. Her ginger brown hair was tied in a neat ponytail behind her head. "What did you have for question fourteen in the Ancient Runes test?" Her best friends, Isabelle Brown and Bertha Jorkins, hovered awkwardly behind her. "I don't think I answered all the right points."

"It was okay," Lily commented. She sat at a bench with Katie and Sabina – Amber was off somewhere with Wade. "That was a trick question because he told us the answers during the last class – you just had to listen." She closed the book she was reading leisurely and looked up at Ailsa.

"Well, I wasn't listening," Ailsa said craftily. "Too busy trying to revise the last minute notes. Bertha, Isa – just go back to the common room without me, I want to talk to Lily." Lily saw Isabelle and Bertha exchanging glances behind Ailsa's back but they left. "Can we have a talk, Lily?"

Lily reluctantly left her place on the bench and walked beside Ailsa. "What do you want to talk to me about?" Lily asked.

"I thought that you might want to know about this," Ailsa said nervously. "But I saw you and James kissing by the lake – I know it was meant to be confidential and everything, but it was kind of an accident. I didn't mean to protrude through your privacy."

Lily gave her a kind smile. She had seen them! It brought hope to James and then again to Lily –

"It's okay," Lily replied considerately. "I mean, the lake isn't a very confidential place, if we had wanted it to be really secret then we would have chosen a more appropriate location."

"I hadn't thought of that," Ailsa said. "So it's alright with you?"

"Yes," Lily answered. She paused for a moment before asking, "How did you come across us?"

"I – I was feeling a little low," Ailsa said faintly. "Please don't tell Bertha or Isabelle, but I gave up trying to find anyone for the Graduation Ball."

"You're not going with anyone?" Lily asked curiously.

"No," Ailsa answered. "Not since – Anders completely stood me up." She folded her arms and looked away from Lily. They were at the very edge of the Forbidden forest, and not far from the lake either. The wind blew with a gentle edge towards it. It was soon close to summer, and winter was long gone. "I knew he was too good to be true, so romantic and funny – like James. But I don't want James, I mean he's nice, but you have him. I don't want him, he's not my type, and he's a little too bold."

"Little too bold for me too," Lily said lightheartedly. Ailsa giggled. "But you can't just give up. Go with a friend or something, someone who can just keep you company and who you can have a good time with."

"Maybe," Ailsa said shortly. "But I don't know. How come you don't have a date then – I mean, I heard that you haven't found a date yet."

"I'm a single person," Lily said with a sigh. "I don't hook up with someone who'd dump me a few months later."

"Then – how about Potter? Isn't he your boyfriend?" Ailsa asked with astonishment. "I thought you two were going together – until I heard that you weren't."

"We are," Lily said quickly. "But –at this rate, no seventh year girl will have a partner."

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But that was completely wrong. At the end of the day someone who was to never have a date would have one – unexpectedly. Lily, Katie, and Sabina sat by the fireplace that evening just talking about what they would do when the year ended. "My parents are going to pay for an apartment they found by the coast," Sabina told her friends. "But I'll have to supply money for them later on – it's such a drag when I have an older brother and older sister to do it for me. It's as if they don't have enough money already for them."

"But we should stay close together at least," Katie pointed out. "I don't want to be half a country away from you guys."

"You have to learn to be independent," Lily said. "Cook, clean, make your own money – God no, Katie! You're going to die after a week!"

"Not funny, Lily," Katie retorted, slapping her lightly on the arm. "I think I'll do okay."

"Next thing you know we'll be loaning her money every month," Sabina whispered into Lily's ear.

"I heard that," Katie snarled. "And I really don't care what you two think of me. I'll be staying at my parents' house for two months then I'll move into a cheap place I can find. I'm planning to work in St. Mungo's with Mum." A soft tapping came from the window of the Gryffindor common room but the three seventh year girls ignored it.

"A healer?" Sabina asked wide-eyed. "Do you really think that you can heal, Katie?"

"Don't worry about me –"

"I wasn't worried about you," Sabina interrupted. "I'm worried about the patient." Sabina and Lily looked at each other and laughed. The drumming sound continued again.

"What's that noise?" Lily asked inquiringly.

"I think it's raining outside," Katie said, without even looking at the window. "Trust the weather to turn bad after our exams."

"It's not rain, Katie," Sabina said, standing up and looking at the window. "It's an owl – an official looking one – I think it's from the Ministry or something." She opened the door and the owl swooped in to perch onto one of the armrests by the fire. "Who is it for?"

Katie took it and read the front. "It's for me," she said trembling slightly. "What did I do wrong?"

"Don't know," Sabina said shortly, coming back to join them. The owl at that point flew away. He obviously didn't want to listen to the news that was in it. "Read it."

Katie broke the seal and unfolded the letter;

"_Dear Ms. Katie Summers, _(it read)

_I am dreadfully sorry to inform you that your house, 42 Harrow St. London, was present with the Dark Mark along with three other homes this noon. We have searched through your house for any survivors and, instead, discovered both the bodies of your parents' lying on the second floor by the stairs. After thorough examinations, we are even more apologetic to inform to you that they had been dead for some time before we had found them. We have certainty to believe that they were victims of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Killing Curse. _

_Do not do anything foolish, Ms. Summers. You have been given permission to complete your final year in Hogwarts. A hearing has yet to be scheduled to confirm upon your new guardian. If you have any questions or hope to find any guidance at this time, we recommend that you'd see Professor Dumbledore. He'll be sure to send us a message._

_Truly apologetic for everything that has happened._

_Lisa Redtusk_

_The Department of Unsolved Crimes_"

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"They're gone," Katie thought to herself. "They're completely gone." The feeling within her was strange; as if she knew she should be sad but she wasn't – not completely. She was caught between a void of shock and resentment. Resentment towards the Dark Lord. After she had read the letter, she ran up to the dormitory and placed a locking charm onto the handle. She didn't want her friends to follow and pay pity upon her. She wanted to go through this herself.

But her friends must have known that too because they didn't come up to disturb her. Katie knew Lily could have lifted the charm in a second but she didn't.

"I'm completely alone in the world," Katie told herself. The echo that she heard was not the voice she remembered. It was bitter and cold. "That sounded so stupid; but here I am talking to myself. I don't know why I don't want to mourn or anything – I don't know why I don't feel myself." She leaned against the door and closed her eyes, trying to picture her Mum's face.

But instead, another event crossed Katie's mind:

"Your dad's an Unspeakable, right?" Lily had asked.

"Yep," Katie said. "I don't know why he's so hooked up in the Department of Mysteries. Remember I told you about the accident he had last year? When he was sent back twenty years in time? I thought I'd never see him again. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if my dad went missing again. My mum always said that his job would end his life."

That could have been the reason why the Dark Lord had tried to kill her Dad; because he was an Unspeakable. Then why had he killed her Mother too? Probably because she was in the way. That was how the mind of the Dark Lord's worked; to kill everyone and anything standing in his way, regardless of the consequences.

Katie couldn't help but picture the scene in her mind. Her Mother screaming as he blew up the front door. Her Father was probably upstairs, that's why her Mother ran up – to warn him. She'd scream in panic, dreading the very moment in which she stood upon – and then nothing. A cold body of a woman lying on the floor. Dead before her body even reached the ground. Her eyes wide open, her face pale and lifeless – Katie's Mother. Then her Dad. He would have rushed out in a fluster. His eyes would rest upon his dead wife. But not before he was dead as well.

For some reason, Katie found the letter a little bit unbelievable. She half-hoped that, by the time she returned home after this final term they'd be there, waving and smiling at her. At that time a pearl drop tear gently slid down her cheek. It would have been great to reunite with them at the end of the school year. She'd spend two months at their house before moving into her home. Then she'd have visited them every month or so. That would have been great. But that greatness would never happen. Not now. Not anymore.

And the tears. Rolling down her cheeks until they could have filled an entire ocean. She felt like screaming, yelling – to just escape. But then she couldn't. She was caught in jail. What could she do but watch life pass her by?

Katie listened for any sounds behind the door but none came. Everything was quiet. Everyone was out having fun somewhere. Quickly, she dried away her tears and lifted the curse from the door. As she made her way down to the common room, she found that it was completely empty except for Sirius, who stood by one of the windows. He was watching the students walking around on the grounds.

"There he goes, sulking again," he was mumbling to himself. "Urgh! Look at that slimy filth – should have taught him a thing or two when it was caught by that Devil's Snare." He turned his head slightly to the right and laughed at a first grader who had slipped on the grass.

Katie sat down onto one the armchairs by the fire. She didn't care about Sirius anymore. He can have his stupid fun. He didn't know that her parents had just died. He wouldn't care anyway. He would just start going on about how he wished his parents would die or something. Katie gave a small smile at the thought.

A long time ago she would have wished for her parents to have died. That's because they're a living hell and a nuisance to begin with. But they had also brought her into the world. It's funny how you can't see what you've got till it's truly gone.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked from behind her. She quickly wiped away the new formed tears in her eyes, pretending to have some dust in them. Why would he care about what she was thinking? Why would he care about anything?

"I'm just fine," Katie replied bitterly.

"What's your name again? Nichole?" Sirius asked.

"Katie," she answered.

"You're Lily's friend aren't you?" Sirius asked.

"And you still don't remember my name after all these years?" Katie asked sarcastically.

"You shouldn't expect me to remember everything," Sirius replied haughtily. He folded his arms and went back to looking out of the window. "I was just wondering. I mean, you always spend your time around Evans, it was a pretty big shock to see you alone."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Katie asked sharply, standing up to look at him.

"You're just always with some friends – that's all," Sirius answered. "It wasn't meant to insult you or anything."

"Well, to be honest," Katie told Sirius. "I don't really think much about you and your 'Mischief Mob.' You think it's just all a bunch of fun – running around and injuring innocent first years. But I just call that irresponsibility. Then that friend of yours – James Potter, he's just as bad, maybe worst. He was really thick to go around trying to make an impression on Lily – then pulling that wild vengeance ruse. I don't even know what he did because, obviously, Lily's still too embarrassed to talk about it."

Sirius looked at Katie and gave her a grim smile. "Not my fault if my best friend goes around cursing people," Sirius told Katie. "If you should criticize anyone, criticize him. And then again no – he'd probably put a curse on you too." He gave Katie a smile.

"That is totally sickening," she replied in disgust. She turned around and began to make her way back to the dormitory again.

"Wait," Sirius called out. "Katie! Do you have anyone to go with to the Graduation Ball?"

Katie turned around and looked at him in distress. "What in the world are you talking about?" she asked. "Weren't we supposed to be arguing with each other?"

"Nah! Can't be bothered," Sirius said indolently. "So? Do you want to go with me?"

"Sure," Katie said. She saw that he was smiling at her and added quickly, "But only because I have no one better to go with."

A/N: How strange is this world? Please review!


	11. Chapter Eleven

::Midnight Lily::

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Eleven

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"I knew that you'd be top of our class, Lily," Amber commented as they walked out of the Great Hall. Their results had been given back to them and almost all of them had passed seemingly. Lily held her report card in front of her with a small smile on her face. She couldn't wait to present it to her parents. They'd be so proud of her. "I'm just glad that I passed in Magical Creatures – that means that I'll be able to go into researching."

Lily caught the eye of James on the way back to the Gryffindor common room and gave him a friendly wave. "Researching?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at Amber. "What for?"

"There's a new species of mermaids that they found off the coast of Greenland," Amber explained. "I read an article on it a couple of months ago in the Daily Prophet. They're looking for young, aspired graduates to go with them. If I do well then there's a direct path to the Magical Creatures Department after that."

"You want to work in the Magical Creatures Department?" Sabina asked, from behind them. "I thought you'd be the type to do advice columns for the Daily Prophet – something like that."

"I give advice to my close friends," Amber agreed. "But only my close friends – counseling is a little bit of a forceful point to me."

Wade joined up with the group and placed an arm around his girlfriend, giving her a gentle swoop on the cheek. "Passed all my subjects!" he said with a grin. "How about you, Amber?"

"Yep," she said with a pleasant smile. "Lily here received the best marks, of course!"

"Well done, Lily!" Wade remarked.

"Stop it," Lily told her friends. "I'm not a know-it-all."

"Of course you are!" Sabina shouted out and they all laughed. "But it'd be good to leave this place."

"Sabina!" Lily exclaimed. "That's a horrible thing to say – you honestly want to leave Hogwarts?"

"I meant leave school," Sabina said. "Of course I'll visit Hogwarts every now and then to catch up on things here."

"Ya," Wade agreed. "I'd like to catch up on the Quidditch teams. So sad I have to leave that behind."

"Are you going to join any teams after graduation?" Amber asked her boyfriend curiously.

"Maybe," Wade shrugged. "I'm not sure Quidditch is the best way to go through your life – could end in disappointment."

"I think that Quidditch is alright," Amber said stiffly. "If it wasn't for my terrible skills I would have thought of joining one." Katie walked a little bit behind them – caught up in her own thoughts. "Katie, how about your results?"

"Passed all the ones that I need," Katie said shortly. "Potions, charms – the usual."

"Good for you," Sabina said. Ever since the notice of Katie's dead parents, everyone had been rather awkward when it came to being around her. "So what are you going to do after this?" Everyone shot a sharp glance at Sabina but she ignored them. "Buy a house with the money they left you with?"

"I'm not sure," Katie said, biting her lower lip. Ever since the letter, she had been ignoring everything that was related to her parents in the fear of letting them go. She _must _remember them. She _wouldn't_ let go. "Maybe I can share a flat with you guys?"

"Ya," Sabina agreed. "I'll ask my parents if you can share the apartment with me by the coast."

"That would be nice," Katie remarked. Sabina gave Katie a warm smile and gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze. "I'll help pay for the food and everything, though."

"Look at you guys," Wade interrupted. "You're talking about your futures like you can just lead yourselves right through them, as if everything you say would work out! You should have taken Katie as an example! You should have realized that things would just come and you should be happy with them and work your way around them!"

Lily, Sabina, Amber and Katie looked at each other and froze. It wasn't that often that Wade would come a break their happy scenario. He had a way of making them turn away from chance. That was probably why Amber had fallen in love with him in the first place. Once in a while Wade would burst and shout at them. It wasn't a happy thought – but he did bring them back into reality.

"He's right," Amber replied, after some time. "We're going too fast. The Graduation Ball hasn't even ended yet and we're talking about our adulthood." She gave him a hug. "We have the rest of the month to figure all this out. Let's just enjoy the rest of our time at Hogwarts."

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Lily sat by the fireplace that night, looking at her report card once more. The results still amazed her. She even answered all the Comparable Species questions right. That came from studying.

All of a sudden her mind reverted to the time she spent with James. Maybe that was the reason why she passed, because she had learnt to relax. Lily shook her mind at the stupid thought. How can relaxing be the key to passing in exams? Alex Watson did that all the time and he passed. But he probably used his quill. Then again, they were given anti-cheating quills so he probably didn't. She gave a small giggle to relief her tensions. Her mind was chasing its tail like a dog again...

"That's just it," James had said to her at one time. "You don't want anything; you just wish for it and yet never hope for it to happen."

That was half true. She often did wish for things to happen yet knew that they were impossible. The things that did come true were all for her family and friends. The practical things. When Lily's family wanted her to do things that would make them proud she did; she was first made prefect and then Head Girl. When her friends told her to completely ignore James and hate him, she did; she had thrown the butterbeer at him through peer pressure.

Why had she never done anything she wanted? Why had she never done the right thing for herself, for a change?

There was a simple answer to that. She couldn't. She was a puppet being played at with her friends, family, and enemies. She could just be used anytime they wanted her to be. Just a small toy. They thought she had no heart or soul of her own. Lily Evans had sold everything for them.

"Still looking at that report card?" a low voice from behind her whispered. She turned around to find James smiling at her and her stomach did a great somersault. "I'd have thought you had enough of full marks and appraisal."

"Me too," Lily said with a smile. She placed it back into her bag. "What are you doing here?"

"Talking to you of course," James said plainly. He seemed to be avoiding her eyes. "I need to talk to you about Ailsa."

"What do you want me to do now?" Lily sighed.

"Nothing, you don't have to do anything, that is," James said quickly. "The Graduation Ball is in two days; I want Ailsa to ask me to go with her tomorrow. So I'll be breaking up with you tomorrow – um, goodnight." He walked back up the stairs towards the boy's dormitory.

Lily looked into the fire, tears brimming from her eyes. Nothing will ever go her way.

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"What's going on?" Sabina asked Katie nervously. Shouts were emerging from the corridor in front of the Great Hall that morning. "That isn't James cursing someone again, is it?" She tried to look over the crowd of spectators.

"It's Potter, alright," Katie said through gritted teeth. "But he isn't cursing anyone – he's fighting with Lily."

"What?" The crowd parted slightly and Sabina saw James shouting at Lily alright. He looked red hot in anger – or was that embarrassment? And Lily. She looked heartbroken and tortured.

"IT'S OVER LILY!! GET THAT OVER YOUR THICK SKULL!! I DON'T LIKE YOU AT ALL ANYMORE!!" James roared. It was hard to believe that this was all a stunt. Lily herself could hardly pull it away from reality. James had all of a suddenly gone cold and rigid. All that was moving was his mouth. He made it sound fixed. But Lily softened it with her hurt face. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!! I HATE YOU! I COMPLETELY HATE YOU!"

"WHAT IN THE WORLD DID I DO WRONG?!!" Lily shouted back. Her emotions were over taking her. She could feel the tears creeping into her eyes. She could feel everyone watching them and her ears burned as red as her hair. Within her chest, something was beating like a drum, but Lily was sure that it wasn't her heart. It was her soul. "TELL ME WHAT WENT WRONG?" She felt so faint – like her knees were about to collapse from under her. This was how they're fun was going to end. James would have Ailsa and she would be left with nothing.

"We're over," James said in a final tone. He turned around and began to make his way up the stairs. Lily ran up to him and he turned around and stared back at her with his cold green eyes. "I never loved you; I can never bring myself to love you." With that he turned around and continued to make his way up the stairs.

There. Lily had done her part for James. Their deal was done. Then why did she feel so ripped off?

"Come on," Amber whispered to Katie and Sabina. "Let's help Lily."

"What was that all about?" Katie asked confused. "I thought Lily didn't like James."

"We didn't like James," Amber said coldly. "You wouldn't understand the complication of things Katie – you don't know what really happened." She ran up to Lily and placed her arms around her. Katie and Sabina took up the rear, looking very confused.

"I don't get it what happened?" Sabina asked.

"James was – Lily's boyfriend," Amber muttered.

"Lily had a boyfriend?" Sabina asked.

"No, he just broke up with her," Amber replied.

"But James was her boyfriend?" Sabina asked.

"No, he never was," Amber answered, helping Lily to her feet.

"Then why did you say that James was Lily's boyfriend?" Sabina asked.

"Because he was," Amber said hastily. She turned to look at Lily with concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," Lily muttered. "It was the final stunt – it was just an act."

"Then you're a very good actress, Lily," Amber remarked. But her tone wasn't of sarcasm, it was serious and bitter. "Tell me now, did you love him or not?"

"I did," Lily replied, looking up at Amber. She stunned herself by saying it.

"And you still do?" Amber asked.

Lily nodded silently.

"Then go after him."

Lily heard no more. She ran up the stairs and followed the path that James took. There she was – playing a puppet once more. But this time she had to agree. This time it was her heart doing the walking and not her mind.

She knew that he'd be somewhere in the Gryffindor common room – somewhere to just think what happened all over again. What had happened before was too fast for her to comprehend. They had just been walking together down to breakfast, talking and having fun and he broke into shouts. She knew it was part of the act. But somehow Lily felt that it was much more then that.

She turned a corner and heard voices. Lily froze. It was James – and not just James – he was with Ailsa.

"What did you do to her, Potter?" Ailsa asked in a bitter voice.

"We just didn't work out," James said even more coldly.

"But she loved you – she cared for you," Ailsa pressured on. "She just wasn't enough, was she? Just because she wasn't perfect, just because you didn't think she was perfect, you think she's nothing. You can't find perfection. It's not possible."

"How about you?" It was barely a whisper.

"I'm not perfect at all," Ailsa told him. "I'm just another ordinary teen trying to find ways to love. But you, you found love. You found love with Lily." There was a short pause where Ailsa and James seemed to be thinking quietly to themselves. "It's not everyday that you find someone who you can spend your life with."

"I'd spend my life with you," James said shortly.

"Excuse me?" Ailsa asked. She sounded shocked – no, beyond shock – she sounded traumatized.

"I did this all for you," James answered. "I wanted to ask you out to the Graduation Ball."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I was too afraid that you'd say 'no.'"

"Well you should have asked me then," Ailsa said. Her voice had grown softer. "Because now I say no."

"How come?" James asked.

"Lily loves you," Ailsa replied. "And I don't."

"I told you," James said intensely. "It was all a stunt for you."

"James," Ailsa said. "We girls have a way to see each other's souls. Call it woman's intuition or something, but we can. And down there? I saw Lily's eyes. They were hurt and it wasn't pretend, it was real. Whatever she might be telling you is not true. Lily loves you for real. It's really sweet that you did all this for me – but before you go and ask the wrong girl to the ball, just think about who you really feel for – who you really love."

Lily leaned against the wall and thought about what she had just heard.

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Lily waited for James to return to the Gryffindor common room. She wanted desperately to hear what he had to say. Who had he chosen? There was a certainty that he had chosen Ailsa. He had a crush on Ailsa. He probably had no feelings for know-it-all Lily. But hope was a strange thing that burned within her as the hours expired. Ailsa. That was all. It was a definite answer. He had chosen Ailsa. Ailsa. Ailsa. Ailsa.

It was close to lunch when James finally entered the common room. Lily was half-asleep on an armrest by the fire. She shook herself awake as James walked in. "So did Ailsa say yes?" Lily asked, standing up anxiously. "Are you going to the Graduation Ball with her?"

James sat down beside Lily, shaking his head grimly. "I talked to Ailsa," he began. "But she didn't worry one bit about me. She wanted to know how you were."

"And what did you say?" Lily asked, leaning forwards.

"I told her everything – the stunt, how I felt about her," James gave a sigh and looked into the fire.

"And how did she react?" Lily asked, pretending to be curious.

"Shocked," James admitted. "Mostly, she thought that it was all for the wrong reason, that I had played around with your heart and it was all stupid.

That's when I realized what a big arrogant jerk I am."

"You're not a jerk," Lily said honestly. "You really aren't. All those jokes I made of you – being arrogant and all – it may have been true but I didn't quite feel that way at all."

"I know you don't," James said haughtily. "But anyway, Ailsa gave a choice; ask her or ask ... somebody else."

"And who did you take?" Lily asked nervously.

At this James stood up straight. "With something so obvious beside me I couldn't see – I guess I needed something more then just a torch to see it," he said. "I had tried to hide my feelings from you, after you completely embarrassed me. I tried to hide it so much that I didn't realize what my feelings really were."

"What did you really feel?" Lily asked. Her heart was pumping furiously within her.

"Mostly I felt that Ailsa had cared about me before and that I should have asked her before, instead of being so locked up in this deal, ," James said wretchedly. "Then – I felt you. I felt all of you. Every time I spent with you – it just blew me over. That's why I'm not going to ask Ailsa to the Graduation Ball. I want to ask you."

Lily didn't know what to say. Was she prepared for Midnight Lily to come alive? Then what was she thinking? It was so stupid. It was all a fairytale wish that she had hoped to come true. But none of her real wishes ever came true.

"So, will you go with me?" James asked.

"That was the stupidest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," Lily said with a smile. James laughed with her. "And I think that it was the best too."

There was a short pause where James and Lily just looked at each other.

"I will."

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A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! The next chapter will be the final one. Thanks for all your support! Again, please R/R! Love you guys! (In a friend sort of way of course!) lol :)

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	12. Chapter Twelve

::Midnight Lily::

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Twelve (Final Chapter)

Lily's heart pumped slowly within her chest, it was a new feeling for her to feel so nervous about a ball. Probably because all the dates she ever had were fixed by her friends. But this time it was different. This time she knew who her date was and that she would be in charged of what was going to happen for once. Her friends wouldn't even have a clue that she had found a date. She had never told them. Lily found it best to have them not know about it for once. The situation was complicating. How would they feel if they knew she was dating him?

Was this how Lily from the story felt? That she was going to have the time of her life and that she'd live happily ever after? But that wasn't true. Lily hadn't known that a kiss would break the spell. She had thought that she would turn into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight.

Lily stroked her own red hair and looked at her grim reflection in the mirror. That is exactly what will happen tomorrow night, she thought. At the stroke of midnight I'll be gone. I'd have graduated. Then no one will ever see me again. I'll turn into a pumpkin. The very thought of it was depressing. She didn't even know if James was the one either. They may not even be together. He may not be as …

"Are you still sulking by that mirror?" Sabina asked, walking in from the common room. Her face was flushed from the excitement of the party that was being held downstairs. "Just come downstairs and share a couple of butterbeers with us! Stop worrying about tomorrow!" She pulled Lily's hair back, away from her hands, and gave her an encouraging smile. "You'll always be beautiful, Lily, and I'm sure that the rest of your life will be just that."

Sabina had no clue what was bothering her. "How about you?" Lily asked modestly, turning the subject to Sabina.

"What about me?" Sabina asked shocked.

"You're always so happy and perfect," Lily replied. "You always look great; and you're always so friendly."

"Stop comparing with me," Sabina fussed, sitting down on her own bed. "Besides, I was a complete train-wreck when Sirius dumped me, I knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, but it still came as a great shock to me. I made a complete fool of myself, trying to ask for him back. I knew that I never could have him back. It was all over but I wanted it to stay."

"And how do you feel now about him?" Lily asked, turning slightly to see Sabina smile.

"I feel like a wall has been broken from the narrow space I had been given – I can finally breathe again," she laughed. "Sometimes I see him and wish that we were back together. And other times I don't mind seeing Katie and Sirius together at all. We're still good friends, but we somehow knew earlier on that we could never be together." She stood up and walked towards the door. "It's all worked out in a way. Sometimes I regret the things I've said and done, and other times I don't have a care in the world."

"Like now?" Lily commented.

"Like now," Sabina agreed. She turned the door knob and glanced back at Lily. "Do you honestly want to stay here all night?"

Lily took a final stare at herself in the mirror. "No," she said. "I'd rather come downstairs and celebrate with you."

Sabina gave her an encouraging smile. "That's more like it."

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The next morning Lily woke up with a nauseating headache, which probably came from too many portions of sweets and butterbeers. She sat up to see that almost everyone was still asleep in their beds. Instead of staying in bed, Lily stood up, took her night robe and then made her way down into the Gryffindor common room. It looked like a waste bin after last night's celebration. The only person there, other then Lily, was James who sat on an armchair by the empty fireplace.

He turned around and gave her a welcoming smile. "That was some party last night, hey Evans?" he asked with a small smile.

"I guess so," Lily said, smiling a little too. She walked over and sat down beside him. "Did you honestly prepare all those fireworks last night?"

"Yep," James said complacently. "You should have seen Peter trying to set one on fire, it was hilarious."

Lily laughed at the very thought of it. "I bet it was; I was busy upstairs, talking to Sabina," she explained. She gave a loud yawn and James followed suit. How late had it been before she had decided to turn out? But looking at James she could see that he had slept a lot later then she did.

"About what, may I ask?" James said inquiringly.

"None of your business," Lily replied, grinning. "Besides, you'd fall asleep half-way through my explanation anyway."

"That's true," James candidly said. "I won't deny that."

They both laughed together.

Lily leaned forwards to stare oddly at him. "Have you ever had cold feet, Potter?" she asked.

"Of course," James said. "Especially when I walk bare footed in the snow."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Who in the world walks bare footed in the snow?" she asked.

"I do," James said, smiling. "But not often, as I said, I get cold feet and it isn't nice." They both snorted.

"Not any other time? Like before the Graduation Ball perhaps?" Lily suggested tensely.

"You're having second-thoughts of going with me, aren't you?" James said, his face fell suddenly and he turned serious.

"No!" Lily exclaimed hastily. "I mean, I'm not going back on my word, I'm still going with you. It's just that I'm not so sure that it is the right thing to do." She looked away quickly. The gaze that James was giving her was daunting. "I guess that it's my friends' words creeping into my head again."

"Lily," James said softly. "Sometimes you have to take chances. Sometimes you have to close your eyes and plunge yourself knee-deep into situations – because if you don't do it, then you'll never know what it is like. You've always spent your life in shallow waters, and you've never decided to discover what the deep end is like."

"Please don't James," Lily moaned. She was sick and tired of his lectures; she was sick and tired of everyone's lectures as a matter of fact. "Please, stop your ranting, I don't need this. I want to make my decisions."

"You have to learn that it isn't always the end of life," James sighed. "Because sometimes it can be the beginning of it, but you'll never know if you never take that chance." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"James," Lily muttered faintly. She looked for a new approach to take his reprimands. "How can you rest your life upon so little trust?"

"Because I make the trust possible," James replied shortly.

"How can you dive into something when you don't know the consequences of it?" Lily asked.

James didn't answer. Instead he just stared at her for a while.

"You seem to be scared to even believe in yourself," he said finally. "You ask so many questions that you want answers from and yet some don't even have answers." He stood up and gave Lily a brief kiss upon her forehead. It wasn't something he did often to a girl. Most of the times he'd go for a full-mouth approach but Lily was different, and the situation was different. "But I don't want to bother you so much. I don't care if you're this cautious about these types of things. One is because; it adds a little zest into a relationship. Number two is that, I'll be there to help you through anyway – because I want to and, as hard as this may sound, I really like you."

The word love slipped off his tongue in the last minute.

James walked out of the portrait hole, leaving Lily within the depths of her thoughts.

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Later that evening, the seventh-year girls of Gryffindor grouped together in their dormitory to prepare for the Graduation Ball. The five of them were all nervous, but none of their nerves could be compared to Lily's which shook her into angst. Her hands were paler then ever – and they trembled every time she moved them.

"What's wrong with you?" Charlie asked with a furrowed brow. She combed her hair with a stiff brush. "You don't have a date."

"I know," Lily said, playing along. "It's just hard to think that tomorrow we'll be leaving this place for good. I mean, it'll never be the same if we ever come back to Hogwarts, we won't be students then at all."

"Hallelujah!" Katie shouted with glee from her side of the dormitory. "What did you think Lily? We'd be students here forever?"

"No," Lily agreed. "But it's just hard to think of."

"Then don't think of it," Amber said simply. She was unfolding a stunning deep blue dress robe made of velvet with satin trimmings. "Do you think Wade would notice if I wore this again?" She held up the blue dress robe. "I mean, I've worn it thrice already, but that was last year."

"He won't notice anything," Sabina said promptly. "Do you think that boys even notice what we wear? They're only thinking if they look nice and whether we look nice."

"They would notice," Katie pointed out. "If we wore a paper bag to the Graduation Ball."

The girls laughed easily.

Lily unzipped her suitcase and took out a plastic bag from the furthest region of her bag. She had been saving it for someone to go with – someone special for the Graduation Ball. That moment came now. Her friends noticed it too. Lily only took out this dress robe if it was for some really, really, really, special occasion. That's probably why she had never taken it out before, only spoken of it.

"Is that _the_ robe? The one you've spoken about yet never shown?" Katie asked interestedly. They crowded around her bed as she pulled it out of its cover. It was emerald green, one that suited her eyes completely. A spell had been cast upon it so that it shimmered around the person who wore it. Lily held it up gently for her friends. It felt silky to the touch, almost like a wave upon the ocean. "It must have cost a fortune."

"I bought it in the first year, for my sister actually, but she never took it," Lily said despondently. "So I kept it for me instead, it was too long for both of us anyway. I had added two spells on it since then; one to make it feel silky, before it was rough to the touch, and the second was to make it sparkle a little. I over did it a bit."

"No you didn't," Sabina said with awe. "It looks so perfect for you – I bet you'd be just like Midnight Lily tonight and everyone would turn their head to look at you." She looked scared to touch it, as if it would be ruined if she did. "All the boys will want to dance with you, and all the girls will be jealous."

"But you told me that you'd never take this out unless it was for something really, really, really special," Katie said intriguingly. "What's the occasion?"

"I guess that I just need this tonight," Lily admitted. It was true; she could barely stand straight, James Potter – that was all she was thinking of – him. "I mean, how long can I wait to wear this? By the time I do, it would be too tight to even fit." They all nodded in agreement. Lily changed into a white dress her Mum had bought last year. It was laden in pearls and lace – what Midnight Lily would have probably worn. Lily used a charm to make it fit on her to the exact measurements. Then she placed the emerald dress robe on top of it.

Meanwhile, Katie had just fastened her crème-pink dress robe on with a silver brooch of a flower. She turned to see Lily staring and gave her a soft blush. "I guess it doesn't look that good, does it?" Katie asked weakly.

"You look great," Lily reassured Katie. "I'm just not sure if I look great." She took a brush and combed her hair until all the tangles were removed.

"Apparently you never looked at your reflection in the mirror," Sabina said. She walked over and pulled Lily's hand over to the nearest dressing table. "There, take a good look at what Midnight Lily looked like that very night."

Lily turned her head and looked at the beautiful, unknown girl that stared back at her. Her hair was silky and slightly tousled atop her hair in an enigmatic way; and her dress robe, it matched her eyes to an exact point. The white dress added a touch that any other gown in the world couldn't. It added a sort of feminine touch to her. Lily looked down at her and smiled slightly.

She looked perfect – almost. "I don't have any shoes!" She cried out in anguish as she looked down at her bare feet. Cold feet. "I didn't even think of that! All I have are school shoes and my sneakers!" Lily looked at her friends in defeat. "I don't think I'll be able to go." She sat down cautiously on her bed and looked at her feet. She was having cold feet alright – and literally.

"Don't be like that," Amber said sympathetically. "One of us must have a spare pair of high heels or something…"

Charlie looked at Lily kindly and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I only brought one pair for myself, I don't think you'd fit in my sized shoes anyway," she remarked. "Why don't you just wear your sneakers anyway? Boys never notice – I think Sabina has a pair – she must, I mean, she wears so many anyway." Sabina did have a pair. But they didn't fit. Her feet were too big as well. It was remarkable how tiny Lily's feet truly were. As if they shrink instead of grow.

"I have a pair," Katie said, out of the blue. "They couldn't fit me thought, they were too small. But I think that they're just the type to suit you." She took out, from underneath her bed, a pair of heels made of glass. "I bought them some time ago in the fourth year, should have known they were too small." She laughed and passed them over to Lily.

They fitted perfectly.

"I should have told you the whole story, the real story some time back," Katie said all of a sudden. "The real girl, Cinderella, her fairy godmother created her a beautiful gown with slippers, a coach out of a pumpkin and horses out of mice. When midnight struck she ran from the ball, as her fairytale could only last that long. She left behind her a glass slipper. The Prince went out to find Cinderella, he had no clue on where she lived or even what her name was, all he had was the glass slipper – and it only fitted her feet."

"It's like the story," Lily smiled.

"And I'm the fairy godmother," Katie laughed. "You keep the shoes." Tears, barely visible, softly fell from her eyes.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Lily exclaimed. She walked over to her best friend and gave her a hug. To have a fairy godmother like Katie may not suit the tale, as Katie could not be a mother yet, but it was the next best thing to Lily.

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It was hard to tell what had happened in the beginning of it all. Lily and her friends had made their way down the stairs. Each of them was looking for their dates (or in Charlie's case a place to sit.) Lily was left on her own as the rest of them walked off to dance. Then she felt a soft and gentle tap upon her shoulder. She turned around to see James, in deep blue, standing behind her. He was just how she imagined her Prince Charming to look like. But there was something different about him then all the other amazing guys – he was beyond amazing.

"You made it," he said with a smile. "Even if you had cold feet."

Lily's face broke into a forthcoming grin. "You can't even begin to imagine," she laughed. "But you look great – you even straightened your hair – if that's possible." They both smothered their chuckles as Snape walked by, eyeing James resentfully.

"You look stunning," James commented. "A little bit different too."

"I'm taking my chances as they come," Lily explained.

"Then would you take a chance on sharing a dance with me?" James asked sincerely. The song that was being played by the band was more of a good feeling song then a romantic song. Just what Lily needed.

"Sure," she said with a short smile.

He held out a hand and Lily took it. The warmth, the feeling of it was welcoming. James led Lily towards a corner of the floor. "I don't feel like being in the spotlight tonight," he whispered into Lily's ear.

"That's good," Lily whispered back. She felt as if she could melt into his arms. It was strange. She had hoped to find someone who would love her for who she was at the beginning of that year. But she had already found him. Even though he had been a little arrogant and conceited he still loved her. It was James. He was everything at that moment. Every piece of her was within him. He, unlike some people, had shown her how to just have a good time and not to worry about the consequences.

The time passed by as she swayed gently in his arms. They exchanged few words as none were needed. But the words that they did pass made the other laugh or feel better. The songs were just whispers within their ears. They could hear nothing except the breath of the other. That was the only music they needed. The mutual force of attraction between them was everything at that time.

"What time is it?" Lily asked, for all she cared, she didn't want an answer. Only the sound of his voice.

"About twelve, I think," James replied. He looked down at his watch for the precise timing. "No, it's eleven fifty."

Lily's heart pounded. She'd spent that long with him? The Graduation Ceremony was going to be held at twelve thirty, as she recalled. "Let's go back to the Gryffindor Common Room," Lily said suddenly.

"How about the Ceremony?" he asked, staring back at her.

"We'll come down for that later," Lily said, pushing the thought away. "I just want to see the Gryffindor Common Room at night time for the very last time. If you don't want to come with me, then you don't have to go."

"No," James said. "I'll follow."

They made their way up the stairs and towards the Gryffindor Common room. The rest of the castle was asleep. As they made it into the Gryffindor Common Room they realized that it was completely empty. Everyone else was either fast asleep in their dormitory or downstairs having fun. Lily and James walked to the centre of the room and took two large sighs each. "It's hard to think, that seven years ago, we were right here being introduced to this place," Lily said softly. "And now we're saying goodbye."

James turned to look at Lily. "Just stay here for a second," he said hastily. "I need to do something." And with that he ran out of the common room, up the stairs, in the direction of the seventh-year's dormitory. Lily stared at the clock that ticked upon the wall rhythmically. It was five minutes to twelve. Midnight was soon going to strike. So where was Prince Charming? She laughed gently to ease her tension. This was real life. Not a story. She needn't have to worry about turning into a pumpkin.

She clicked her heels together nervously. She felt like Midnight Lily though. Lily felt like, any moment, the magic would soon be gone and reality would creep up on her. She'd be away from this place forever. She would probably never look at her friends the same way again. Lily felt like she'd never see James again. But that wouldn't be completely true. For some reason, she felt taller then she was used to. As if Lily was growing right before her eyes.

She slipped off Katie's shoes and kept them beside her. She didn't want to be cast away into a spell.

At that moment, James ran back into the common room, carrying a small box in his hand. The clock on the common room wall had made its way to three to twelve. Time was running out. Midnight Lily's spell had been broken at exactly midnight. But Lily had no spell cast upon her, only the spell of a being a puppet slave to her friends and family.

"This is for you," James said. He held out the small box which Lily took tentatively.

"What is it?" she asked with a small smile on her face.

"Why don't you open it and find out for yourself?" James suggested.

Lily opened the box to find a pair of glistening white lily earrings. They were simple and small, yet looked very precious nonetheless.

"I thought you might like to wear this on your wedding day; I just hope that it suits your wedding gown," James explained. "You did say that you wanted a white one, right? Well you can have these to go with it."

"You still remembered?" Lily asked, a little shocked. She fastened them to her earlobes. Why would he even bother remembering something like that? She thought. No boy would even listen to her stupid remarks on the future.

"Since I'm arrogant and stupid doesn't mean I'm forgetful too," he laughed. "Whoever you marry – I'm sure you'll look great with them on."

At that very point in time Lily looked at the clock on the wall. One minute to midnight. Lily placed the small box onto the table and held onto James's hands. They were in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room and all alone at that. She wasn't sure if it counted as romantic in the Midnight Lily story but it was something. They just listened as the clock ticked by. Closer and closer to midnight.

Lily leaned forwards into James's ear and whispered, "At the stroke of midnight, I turn into a pumpkin and you'll never have to see me again." She felt close to tears and yet she was so happy. Maybe James was the right person to fall in love with. Maybe he had mended the error of his ways and had gone to be supportive and kind. Maybe this was just a dream…

James shook his head. "Don't talk like that," he whispered back. "I don't want you to leave."

Lily glanced reflectively into his eyes. "Why not?"

"Because I love you."

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_Final Ending:_

The morning before Lily left Hogwarts, she took one of the glass slippers and went to the fountain of Marilyn H. Stimpson. That time she wasn't afraid as she knew that, even if she fell, she'd still be able to catch herself and pull herself up. There, she placed the glass slipper into the water and almost as if it were a reply, an image came to the surface.

It was of two people; a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman, both in their mid-twenties. The young man looked proud and happy, as if he had never felt such an exhilarating feeling, it seemed to be an exhilarating moment. The young woman wore a white gown, a white _wedding_ gown, and beamed. She was carefree and she content. As Lily leaned forwards, trying to catch the face of the young man, the image disappeared. She didn't recognize who the man was, but she was sure the young woman was herself.

When she reached for the glass slipper she realized that it was gone as well. There had been a price to that image, but the price was worth it.

And to finish off this fanfiction, as another fairy tale, I must say four words that close it. I apologize for not saying the four words that should have began the story but, to be truthful, I never knew when Lily's fairytale story had begun.

So I end it at this; where both James and Lily lived happily ever after.

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